Walk On
by RedMirage
Summary: AU - A teahouse romance…A library romance…And a gathering of two attracted individuals at a secret location.With Naruto as the ultimate uke…Who will finally win his heart? SasuNaru, NejiNaru, GaaraNaru. Warning: Contains yaoi
1. A Bump, Seeing Pink, Cold Glares and a W

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!  
  
**Pairings:** Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto...others yet undecided.  
  
**Warnings:** AU and Contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.  
  
**Ratings:** PG - 13 but may rise to R later in the story...  
  
**Summary:** A teahouse romance... A library romance... And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location. With Naruto as the ultimate uke... Who will finally win his heart and body? Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.

**Chapter 1: A Bump, Seeing Pink, Cold Glares and a Walking Sex God.  
**The bright morning sun shone upon a quaint little teahouse located along the streets of Konoha. Soft ringing of bells could be heard as the door opened to reveal a short, teenage guy with dazzling blond hair. Naruto yawned loudly and stretched his limbs. Today would be the first day of him attending college and he had no idea what it would be like. He is currently living with his uncle, Jiraiya, the owner of the teahouse and the apartment upstairs and also working for the man on a part-time basis. He found the work to be rather enjoyable and the customers friendly. He had chosen to live here since the place is near to the university he is attending and because he did not want to feel lonely again.  
  
Coming from an all-boys high school where he had a reputation as an outcast for his very different taste in clothes, music and interests in that preppy boys school, Naruto had seriously hoped that it would be different in the Konoha University. He wondered if he could finally find a beautiful girl as his girlfriend. Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, he headed into the shop and prepared to get ready for his first day of college life.  
  
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Stepping past the gate of the university, Naruto almost thought he was in women paradise. Beautiful and cute girls could be seen everywhere that if he were to choose to find one as his girlfriend, he would certainly be spoilt for choices! Walking at a brisk pace, he took a brief look around the school and the bright and cheery environment of the place impressed him. Trees and flowers were everywhere and the buildings were a mix of modern and old look. He stopped at a large brown-bricked building with bright, sparkling eyes. It was the library and there must be tons of books in the large building waiting to be read! There was a loud chime of bell, signaling to him that it was time to get to the hall for his orientation as Naruto quickly head towards the direction of the hall for the ceremony, while promising to visit the library sometime soon.  
  
Uchiha Sasuke leaned against a pillar as he watched the entire ceremony with a detached expression. He did rather be somewhere else focusing his camera on a beautiful landscape than here, listening to an old man talked about things he had absolutely no interest in. He glanced briefly around him and found many pairs of eyes belonging to love-struck girls upon him. He suppressed an annoyed sign and wondered if the girls of the school could just disappeared until his graduation. His pale delicate features always attract troubles like this that he seriously wondered if it was a blessing or a curse. It would be annoying to have girls pestered him for a date or to be his girlfriend if he was a normal straight guy but it was even worse when he was really a homosexual who also have a large number of guys chasing after him. It was a while before the old man whom was the Hokage of the university, finished his long speech. The students were then asked to proceed to their respective lectures for the day. Sasuke was walking towards his lecture room when he bumped into somebody around the corner and landed hard with his butt on the floor.  
  
"Oww...that hurts! Watch where you are going, dobe!" Sasuke growled at the idiot who knocked into him so hard. He looked up to find himself lost, starring into the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he has ever seen.  
  
"I'm sorry! I was in a rush as I am running late for my lecture!" Naruto quickly apologized as he extends his hand to help the guy up. He noticed briefly that the guy was extremely good looking but he also noticed that if he doesn't run to the room now, he wouldn't make it on time! If there was one thing Naruto hate, it was being late for anything. After apologizing for the second time hastily, Naruto was well on his way to his German class, running as though his life depends on it.  
  
Sasuke stared after the guy who had helped him up and ran away after speaking words in such a rush that all he could catch was that the guy was 'sorry' and 'late'. He then focused his gaze on the hand that the guy had grabbed and thought back to how small the guy's hand was for a man. Shaking his head, Sasuke continued on his way to his first lecture thinking that it may not be so bad coming to this university.  
  
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It was in the late afternoon when Naruto was finally free from his lectures for the day. He headed towards the library, eager to start his search for good reads from that treasure mine he found today.  
  
He reflected back to his day where he was having his German class. The girl sitting next to him was beautiful with long pink shiny hair and sparkling emerald eyes. He could remember himself blushing and stuttering horribly during a brief introduction to each other, where the girl, Haruno Sakura, granted him a beautiful smile. Then he started to think about the guy sitting next to him. He had never met someone who could look so cool, yet really homicidal at the same time. He also noticed how people beside himself would sit quite a distance from Gaara. He was strangely comfortable to be sitting next to him even though Gaara seems to be really intimidating with all his cold glares and curt answers. He had decided there and then that he would want to make a friend out of Gaara and somehow understand the guy better.  
  
He stepped into the library and walked to the direction where the books are located. What he saw left him breathless. He had never ever seen so many books in his whole life and this was only the first floor of the building! He took a stroll through the fiction section. Within a short time, he decided to borrow three books that he had found first. As he turned around, preparing to check out the books, he found himself starring at the chest of a guy. He glanced up and was greeted with a pair of unusual yet beautiful white eyes. The man was wearing a light blue button-down shirt and a fitting pair of black pants with black leather shoes. He had long black hair tied up in a ponytail and his chest was slightly exposed, as he did not button the first two buttons.  
  
'He looked like a sex god,' Naruto thought to himself before he suddenly bashed himself mentally in the head. 'I did not just think that of a guy!' he screeched to himself, heart beating wildly.  
  
Hyuuga Neji stared at the boy in front of him. The guy looked like he was lost in his own world. Feeling weirdly amused, he asked, "Hey, is this your first year in the school?"  
  
Naruto snapped out of his reverie upon hearing Neji's voice and answered rather shyly. "Yes...I am a freshmen. I am Uzumaki Naruto."  
  
"And I am Hyuuga Neji." Neji replied with a smirk. "So, what books did you choose to borrow, Naruto-kun?"  
  
Naruto felt himself blushing at Neji's use of his name. He also noticed that Neji's voice is a soothing deep baritone though the tone is somewhat icy. "It's Fate and Destiny, Bridge to Heaven and Cruel Desire."  
  
"Fate and Destiny... Interesting... Why do you choose that book?"  
  
"Well, it's by my favorite author, H. Kaito. He is really good at exposing the inner feelings of the characters and the plot of his stories are always interesting and never dull!" Naruto answered excitedly, his whole face brightening up at chatting about one of his favorite author.  
  
Neji observed the way Naruto reacts and can't help but be fascinated by the radiant aura of the boy. From a shy and quiet guy, Naruto had changed into a talkative and bubbly character. He had never seen someone like Naruto who wears his emotions on the outside to show to the rest of the world so clearly. He also felt an odd ache in his heart at the way that Naruto had talked about the author. He sounded so sincere about everything that Neji can't help but want to know more about the boy. That was something that had never happened with him before. Neji suddenly felt a need to sort out the strange feeling he is having  
  
"I can see how much you like the author. Well, maybe I will see you sometime again if you come to the library and we can discuss some more. I have got something on... so I'll see you around." Neji replied a bit stiffly but politely.  
  
"Yeah...I like reading so I think I will frequent the library often. I'll see you around too." Naruto answered back softly but clearly.  
  
Seeing Neji's disappeared somewhere, Naruto headed to the library desk to borrow the books before going home, feeling happy with his first day of college life, with a foxy little grin on his face. He can't help but feel that his dull life would soon change and probably for the better.  
  
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TBC...  
  
Hi! This is RedMirage. So far I've only posted my poems here so this is my first fanfiction that is posted on net. I was reading Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made when the idea struck me and never got out of my head since...The story of the manga is very sweet though I think mine may contain some serious angst in the future. It was a dream of mine to make Naruto as the ultimate uke and I have no idea why. There will be many who will compete for Naruto's affection in the story and only one will be the final victor...or maybe not. X3

I will need a beta reader and if anyway is interested to help, email me!

Anyway, please read and review! The more the better...it may get a lazy bum like me to do the story faster!


	2. Black and Red Clashed with a Blond in th...

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!  
  
**Pairings**: Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto...others yet undecided.  
  
**Warnings**: AU and contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.  
  
**Rating**: **PG - 13** but may rise to **R** later in the story...  
  
**Summary**: A teahouse romance... A library romance... And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location. With Naruto as the ultimate uke... Who will finally win his heart and body? Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.  
  
**Chapter 2: Black and Red Clashed with a Blond in the Middle  
**  
The bell chimed melodiously as the wooden door of the teahouse opened.  
  
"Welcome!" Naruto greeted loud and clear with his back still turned to Sasuke, as he was busy serving a regular customer a cup of ice tea with a slice of cheesecake.  
  
Sasuke walked to the corner of the shop and made himself comfortable on the soft cushioned seat. He glanced around the interior before focusing his steely eyes on the blond waiter. 'It's the dobe from two days ago. No wonder his voice sounded so familiar when he greeted me,' Sasuke realized. He was so busy observing Naruto that he did not noticed Jiraiya standing beside him.  
  
Jiraiya gave a few bone-crashing pats on Sasuke's shoulder without any warning that nearly caused Sasuke to jump up in surprise if not for his inhuman composure. Noticing that it was only Jiraiya, Sasuke sent a death glare to the man, which Jiraiya shrugged off sheepishly.  
  
"So, it has been quite some time since you came here. What have you been busy with, Sasuke-kun?" Jiraiya asked gruffly.  
  
"Just some traveling to take my pictures," Sasuke replied in an even tone.  
  
"Is that a new waiter you hired?"  
  
"Yeah... are you interested in him, Sasuke-kun?" Jiraiya asked coyly. He had seen Sasuke looking at Naruto since he came into the teahouse and he knew that it was unusual for Sasuke to notice someone for that long. He also knew that Sasuke was a homosexual.  
  
"Maybe... Why do you care anyway? By the way, get me some ice tea and a chocolate muffin." Sasuke wondered why Jiraiya was asking him so many questions when the man knew well that he prefers to be left alone. The man usually does some greeting and leaves him alone unless he decides to discuss about photography with him. So far, they had not discussed anything pertaining to that particular subject yet.  
  
"Because that's my cute little nephew you are busy staring at."  
  
"Protective, aren't you?" Sasuke replied sarcastically. 'No wonder the man is asking so many questions,' Sasuke thought, feeling a little irritated.  
  
"Of course not! Just that if anything happened to the boy, someone would be having my head for it. Wait a moment, I'll get your order." Jiraiya walked to the back to get Sasuke's order. 'I will send Naruto to serve Sasuke. This could get interesting,' Jiraiya chuckled to himself at his evil thoughts.  
  
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Naruto finally finished serving the customers and noticed his ero-jisan talking to a young man who looked like someone that he had met just recently. The guy was really gorgeous looking with pale delicate sharp features that are framed by silky black locks tied up in a short ponytail. He was dressed in a black T-shirt but Naruto could not see the pants he was wearing as the guy was sitting down. Naruto made his way to the tea counter where he prepared a cup of Kilimanjaro for a customer.  
  
"Naruto, take this to the customer sitting at the corner."  
  
"Eh? But what about the other..." Naruto did not get to finish his sentence before Jiraiya interrupted him.  
  
"I will serve that customer. Just go."  
  
Naruto took Sasuke's orders to him. While serving him, Sasuke questioned him. "Don't you remember me? You bumped into me two days ago."  
  
A flash of recognition passes through Naruto's sky blue eyes as he stared into Sasuke's pair of smothering onyx eyes that had glared at him so deadly just recently. "Oh, you are that guy! I knew I met you somewhere but I can't remember too well... Sorry about what happened two days ago."  
  
"It's fine. So you are working for your uncle?"  
  
"Yeah... I'm living with him in the apartment upstairs, too. It's a good thing that this place is so close to the university. What about you? Do you live in the dorm?" Naruto blushed a faint pink on his cheeks. Sasuke was really beautiful upfront and that reminded him of Neji, which made his blush deepened even more.  
  
"No, I live in the nearby Minx Apartments." Sasuke replied somewhat curtly.  
  
"Oh...I see. Well, enjoy your meal, I have to get back to my job." Naruto gave Sasuke a bright foxy smile before turning his attention to some other customers.  
  
'God! He is cute with those whiskers mark on his cheeks...and so pretty.' Sasuke mused to himself. Naruto reminds Sasuke of a fox when he was smiling and he almost loses his cool composure for that disarming smile. God, his heart pounded so fast and hard when Naruto was near him! Not wanting to leave yet, Sasuke kept making orders of drinks and snacks, happily spending his time observing the cute blond from the corner till the evening arrived.

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Naruto was utterly amazed with the guy sitting at the corner. He had been here for about four hours and had never ceased ordering for food and drinks. Suddenly, Naruto realized that although it was the second time he had met and talked with that guy, if you could actually count that first time as a civil way of meeting someone, he still didn't know the man's name! Feeling slightly stupid and noticing the rapidly diminishing crowd in the teahouse, Naruto decided to formally introduce himself to the guy. Walking in determined strides, Naruto placed a bright smile on his face before asking the guy who is now looking back at him with a weird expression.  
  
Suddenly feeling shy about the whole thing, Naruto fidgeted a little before asking a little shakily. "Um... I was thinking that we haven't been formally introduced yet... I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."  
  
"Oh yeah...and I'm Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you, too," Sasuke replied tonelessly.  
  
Sasuke was in a panic when he saw Naruto advancing towards him with a bright smile. 'Had he found out? Was I really so damn obvious?' These thoughts kept assaulting Sasuke's mind while he struggled to look as indifferent as usual. He felt a deep sense of relief when he heard Naruto's question and answered him back accordingly before placing a question back at Naruto.  
  
"So, what do you do in your free time? You must be busy both studying and working."  
  
Naruto looked around the teahouse making sure that his service is not needed before taking a sit opposite of Sasuke.  
  
"I love to read...and travel if I have the time. Actually, I'm thinking that working in the teahouse is some sort of an interest to me now. I have never experienced such things until I came to Konoha three months ago and I'm enjoying every bit of it. I also like looking at the photography works on the walls in the teahouse. They're beautiful and ero-jisan changes them regularly. However, he never took down the one at the counter and replaces it with another. I think that the picture entitled "White" is the best one I've ever seen so far," Naruto replied with much enthusiasm as his eyes twinkled in passion, as he always did when he spoke about things that he is interested in.  
  
Sasuke was impressed with how passionate Naruto was with his little speech and how his eyes looked so alive that it was almost electric. However, he didn't think that the picture Naruto spoke about with such enthusiasm was really worth such praise and he voiced it out loud.  
  
"I don't think that it is as good as you said it was. It's a work of an amateur."  
  
Naruto was indignant with Sasuke's insinuation and spoke loudly to defend his views. "No, it's not! I think it's really good. I may not know much about photography but I know what is a beautiful thing when I see one! And what's with that expression of yours?"  
  
Sasuke smirked at Naruto's reply and felt rather happy with what he said about the picture.  
  
"Thank you for your appreciation of the picture," Sasuke replied before his mouth curved up in a small gentle smile.  
  
Naruto was stunned momentarily not only from how Sasuke's whole appearance seems to have changed from smiling, but also because he realized that Sasuke is the photographer of 'White'. He shook his head a little and asked in a slightly hesitant and perplexed voice. "Since 'White' is your work, why do you criticize it? Aren't you proud of it? I think you did a very good job on it or else even ero-jisan wouldn't placed it on the wall for so long without changing it."  
  
Sasuke took a sip of his tea before answering softly. "I took it about three years ago. I was still pretty much an amateur at that time so I don't think I did justice to the picture. However, the scenery was truly magnificent under the moonlight, with pure white snow falling onto the dark river. It was so surreal that I took that moment to take a picture of it. I don't regret taking it but I don't think it was the best of my works at all."  
  
Naruto felt as though he had come to some form of understanding with Sasuke's explanation. 'No wonder he said that it was a work of an amateur.'  
  
"Well, if you could handle a camera so well three years ago, I'm sure that you must be really good by now. So when you become a professional, you should go back to that wonderful place and take a picture of it again." Naruto smiled gently at Sasuke, causing Sasuke to blush a little.  
  
Sasuke felt odd tender warmth rising from the pit of his belly before spreading rapidly to the rest of his body as his face softened a little while looking at Naruto. No one had given him such simple compliments and encouragement for his talents with such sincerity before. They always compare him with Itachi before showering him with praises for his great talents, leaving him feeling like he was living in his older brother's shadow. However, Naruto didn't know about Itachi and that made his praises even more real. Before Sasuke could thank Naruto for his kind encouragement, Sasuke noticed someone standing silently by Naruto with a pale hand on his shoulder and spoke Naruto's name coldly. Naruto whipped his head around and saw that it was Gaara.  
  
"Oh, Gaara! It is time for our study session already?" Naruto took a quick glance at his watch before shooting Sasuke an apologetic look.  
  
"Sorry Sasuke, but I have a study session with Gaara to help improved his German language. I will talk to you maybe some other time at school?"  
  
"Ah... Sure, dobe." Sasuke replied with a smirk at Naruto but when he gazed at Gaara, a cold face was in place of his previous look.  
  
Gaara's eyes narrowed at the glare Sasuke directed to him. 'What kind of brat is he to dare glared at **me** like that?' He returned a deadly glare of his own, his emerald eyes looking sharp.  
  
Naruto felt a sudden high tension in the surrounding and can't help but let out a soft sigh when he noticed how Sasuke and Gaara was involved in a staring match with each other. 'Didn't they just meet? They look as though they have been enemies since forever!'  
  
"Oi! What do you mean by 'dobe'? I'm not a 'dobe'!" Naruto spoke loudly, hoping to diffuse the tension between the two guys.  
  
"That is my nickname for you. You will be dobe to me and no one else from now on." Sasuke replied back playfully but the possessive eyes he cast upon Gaara seems to say 'He is mine!"  
  
'So that is what is happening, huh? He is suspecting Naruto and me.' Gaara turned away from Sasuke coldly before fixing his eyes on Naruto, asking, "So where is your room, Uzumaki?"  
  
"I thought I told you to call me Naruto! It's upstairs on the second floor. Walk straight and turn onto the left hallway. The last room is mine."  
  
Gaara cast one last look at Sasuke before proceeding to Naruto's room while calling out, "I'll wait for you up in your _room_, Naruto." He emphasized on the word 'room' and if he was to turn around, he would have seen Sasuke's somewhat livid face.  
  
'That bastard!' Sasuke snarled to himself. He followed Naruto to the counter where Naruto rang up his purchases. He looked at Naruto before saying, "Why don't we have lunch together at the cafeteria tomorrow? I will meet you there at noon."  
  
Naruto blinked his eyes a little at Sasuke before replying, "Huh? Um... sure."  
  
With that, Sasuke was gone with a wave into the warm balmy night.  
  
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Naruto made his way to the room with a tray of tea, two cups of instant ramen and some snacks after informing ero-jisan about his study session. He opened the door and walked into his room. Setting the tray gently on the low table in the center of his room, Naruto silently made his way to the balcony where Gaara is focusing his attention on the crescent moon that is accompanied by a random scatter of twinkling stars.  
  
"The night is beautiful, isn't it?" Naruto commented softly as he leaned lightly against the railing.  
  
Gaara merely gave a small nod before he turned his cold emerald eyes on Naruto. Naruto couldn't helped but feel that there is some form of mystery swirling within the depths of those beautiful clear green eyes. 'Like he could see through everything," Naruto thought to himself. Gaara is an enigma to everyone who meets him and a deadly one at that, but Naruto have this urge to unravel this piece of puzzle and befriend him because he could sense that they are alike in some ways. Gaara walked back into the room where he sat cross-legged on the cold marble tiles with his German lecture notes already spread out in front of him. Naruto followed after him and sat opposite to him, thus beginning their first study session.  
  
For an hour, the room was filled with low voices from the two young men as they discussed about their notes. Finally, both decided that their study session should end for the day. Naruto took a sip of his ice tea as he pushed his notes aside. Gaara stared at Naruto and started to speak again.  
  
"That Sasuke guy... do you like him?"  
  
"Sure...He's nice to talk to even though we just met," Naruto replied with his attention still on arranging his notes.  
  
"How do you manage it? Always smiling and looking happy... don't you feel tired?" Gaara asked again.  
  
Naruto finally look up from his notes and stared at Gaara. It was not normal for Gaara to take part in a conversation much less make one in the very short time that Naruto have known him. In fact, he had never heard the man speak more than a few sentences at a time. He knew that Gaara had accepted him as a friend because he didn't get any death glares from this guy that everyone else had received. When he asked Gaara the reason, the answer received was that he was 'interesting enough and thus worth observing'.  
  
Still staring at Gaara, Naruto said, "I don't have much friends... and when I get to befriend someone, I always have a feeling of happiness. It just happens so naturally. I guess I hated loneliness since my childhood is consist of only such bad feelings."  
  
Gaara nodded his head again, which also signaled the end of the conversation. 'He is like me... but different. My instinct was right about him being an interesting guy,' Gaara thought to himself. When he had first met Naruto, the blond had not run away in fright when he gave him a death glare and had even smiled brightly and introduced himself cheerfully. The blond would always try to engage him in some form conversation. He was also curious about the radiant energy that hyperactive man gave out wherever he went. But he could also sense the sorrow that the blond was hiding, which was rather like the misery he constantly felt himself. For the first time ever, Gaara felt like he had finally found something interesting in his life and had accepted Naruto as his friend. Naruto was his first friend and very likely his last. Then, he thought about Sasuke and a frown appeared on his forehead while his mouth curled up in slight distaste. That guy was a rude brat who thought that he had something going on with Naruto. Naruto was cute and very attractive but Gaara had never thought of him that way or anyone else in that aspect. Just thinking of Sasuke made Gaara mad. He stuffed his notes into his bag and stood up. Naruto walked him to the door.  
  
"So, I'll see you tomorrow in school," Gaara said, turning his head to look at Naruto.  
  
"Yeah, me too. Be careful on your way to the dorm," Naruto replied with a wave of his hand.  
  
Gaara gave a curt nod and walked off in long strides. Naruto watched his friend disappeared into the warm night before turning around and heading back to his room.  
  
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Naruto switched on his laptop after taking a shower and proceed to send two emails to his best friend, Haku, and his ex-tutor, Iruka-niichan.  
  
_Dear Haku,  
  
I'm doing fine in the university so do not worry about me. I have made a lot of new friends and I think that college is really different from high school. Here, there are all kinds of people coming from different walks of life so no one finds my interests weird and treats me as an outcast anymore. How are you doing in Shinjuku? You must take care of yourself since you are now working for your dad. It must be tough for you to run the gang in Shinjuku and try not to get involved in too many fights even though I know that it would probably be impossible for you to do so.  
  
I miss you a lot and when you are free, come by and drop me a visit. I'll be going to sleep now so I will write again some other time.  
  
Naruto (P.S: Thanks for your present of the latest H. Kaito limited edition book. I love it!)_  
  
Naruto rubbed his sleepy eyes a little before typing out Iruka's email.  
  
_Dear Iruka-niichan,  
  
How are you enjoying your much-needed vacation? I hope you are having fun in Rome. Anyway, I'm settling down really well here and I like the life in Konoha. I have a lecturer teaching the German language by the name of Hatake Kakashi and he is a really big pervert who love reading ero-jisan's novel series, "Icha Icha Paradise". In fact he was reading the latest volume today in class! Thank God that he is good at teaching, though. He really is the complete opposite of you since you can become so serious and scary when you are teaching. It would be fun to see what would happen if both of you actually meet someday, ne?  
  
Did remember to buy me souvenirs? I hope to see you soon.  
  
Naruto  
_  
Naruto clicked the button "Send" and then switched off his laptop. Tomorrow, he would visit the library to return and borrow books, with hopes of seeing Neji again. He threw himself on the soft bed and promptly fell asleep from the long day he had had, with a satisfied smile on his lightly tanned face.  
  
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TBC...  
  
**Next Chapter**: Watch out for appearances of Neji, Sakura and Lee! Naruto will also be questioning and finding out his true sexual orientation!  
  
**Plot and character mumbles**: Finally done with Chapter 2, which is much longer than Chapter 1. Anyway, I know how it seems as though everything is going slowly but I think that story is going to become one long drama, thanks to my crazy imagination. This chapter is more about the characters knowing and understanding each other more (Maybe a little boring but crucial to the plot and character development).

For those who are wondering why Gaara had only treated Naruto as a friend in this chapter, this is because I've decided that I don't want my story to become one where all the Seme fall in love with the Uke at first sight or whatever you want to call it. As you can see, Sasuke did end up liking Naruto almost at first sight while Neji is sorting out his feelings still (Soon he will understand what he is feeling, I hope). Thus I want Gaara's feelings for our beloved hyper blond to grow slowly before he joins in the race for Naruto's heart. It sounds better this way to me and makes more sense. In the meantime, since Gaara knows how Sasuke feels for Naruto, he will take great care and satisfaction in pissing Sasuke off and making him jealous. For those who want Itachi x Naruto pairing, your wish will be fulfilled but there will only be some of it. Itachi will be with someone else because there are also tons of other cute guys in Naruto.  
  
No character profiles until next chapter since I don't want any spoilers.  
  
**Reviews**:  
  
Thanks to IceHeart19 and Teki Star for being my betas! You guys are wonderful!  
  
Thanks lalala, Kisu, Dark Mimiru-Chan, Jenniyah, ysth83, Sierra-Falls, Cookie6, Spazz, KizuPL, Ruby Soul, Anime Lass and Yuen-chan also for your reviews.  
  
IceHeart19: I'm not sure whom Naruto will end up with myself so I also have no clue as to whether it will end up like the manga...or maybe it will end up with more than one winner, who knows? X3  
  
Sierra-Falls: I know Naruto can be clumsy but I don't think that he always has to be involved in all the embarrassing situations...lol... As you can see, he calls Jiraiya, who is his uncle in this fic, ero-jisan... I thought it sounds better this way.


	3. Electric Tingle, Jealousy and Catfights!...

**Walk On**

**By RedMirage aka Kei-Chan**  
  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!  
  
**Pairings:** Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto, Zabuza x Haku, Lee x Sakura...others still a secret. :P  
  
**Warnings:** AU and contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.  
  
**Rating:** **PG - 13** but may rise to **R** later in the story...  
  
**Summary:** A teahouse romance... A library romance... And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location. With Naruto as the ultimate uke... Who will finally win his heart and body? Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.  
  
**Chapter 3: Electric Tingle, Jealousy and Catfights! Meow!  
**  
Naruto was happily reading a book on a comfortable couch in the silent library when he felt someone sitting down next to him. He twisted his head to the side to find that it was Neji. Feeling a warm tingle spread through his body at the sight of Neji, he felt confused. 'Why do I have this kind of warm feeling whenever I see Neji-san?' Naruto wondered to himself.  
  
"Good morning, Neji-san!" Naruto said with a foxy grin.  
  
"Morning to you too, Naruto-kun." Neji said with a lazy smile. "Every time I see you, you always have a book in your hand. Another book by H. Kaito?"  
  
"Yeah... It's _another_ book by H.Kaito. I just absolutely adore this author's works. Have you read any of them before?" Naruto asked excitedly, a curious gleam shone in his eyes, as he wanted to know more about Neji.  
  
"I'm very familiar with his works too. In fact, there is nothing about the books by H. Kaito that I do not know about." Neji said with ease. 'I know everything because I _am_ H. Kaito but no one except Hinata-chan knows.'  
  
"Really? You're also a fan of his? Oh wow, that's great! Now, I have someone to discuss with me about these books." Naruto was really excited, knowing that someone like Neji shares the same passion as him.  
  
Neji smiled warmly at Naruto. The last time, he had literally run away from Naruto in an uneasy panic when the boy had triggered a strange warm feeling in him. After he spent some time to calm himself down and analyzed his feelings, he came to the conclusion that he is interested in Naruto in some way. He had decided then to find out exactly what kind of attraction is he feeling for Naruto and thus resolved to find ways to spend time with the blonde which was rather easy since both of them love visiting the library. He had came into the library this morning with the intention of spending some quiet time reading instead of outside in the campus, where horde of fan girls were waiting for a chance to pounce on him, but instead found Naruto snuggled comfortably on one of the couches reading a book. He had walked up to the boy unnoticed and sat beside Naruto to draw his attention. Neji thought Naruto looked really adorable when he was concentrating hard on a certain task. Soon he found Naruto's pair of bright blue eyes focused on him while greeting him cheerfully with a sunny grin. Neji could never figure out how Naruto could always appear so happy each time they met.  
  
"I remembered that you borrowed Fate and Destiny last time. How do you find the book?" Neji asked. He was curious about Naruto's thoughts on the book, as he had based it loosely on his own life.  
  
"It was rather sad how the main character believes that everything that had happened to him have something to do with fate. Although there are many things that are out of our control, we still have the freedom to express our own ideals and give our very best to achieve it. I always thought that if one works diligently and fight for what we want; someday the goal could be achieved. To leave everything in the hands of fate and destiny seems as though one is giving up easily without a fight. But it was still a good read though," Naruto replied seriously.  
  
Neji was stunned by Naruto's answer. Although the little blonde had seemed easy-going with his cheerful attitude, he obviously had his own strong beliefs that are not easily swayed. He was sincere in his beliefs and not showing fake optimism like so many others that Neji had known. Although it was a serious clash with his own opinions, Neji found it refreshing and utterly appealing to have someone who is such an opposite of him where personality is concerned. He was sick and tired of everyone trying either to create his downfall because they were jealous for reasons unknown or to get into his good books by agreeing to whatever he said. For so long, Neji was hardly able to have a proper conversation with anyone besides his own cousin, Hinata. The girls were always giggling and the guys either act the same as the girls or gave him hateful looks of jealousy. It did not take a long time for him to practically ignore nearly everyone who tried to reach out to him thus making everyone thinks that he is cool for his polite but distant manner when approached by someone.  
  
"I enjoyed it too and I had agreed with the what the author had written. Some people never really had a chance to choose what they really want to do. From the day they were born, everything had been decided for them. They could not go against the responsibilities that they are burdened with or the expectations that people had for them and that was their fate. Sometimes, it does not matter what one wants but what is good for everyone. Many people can try their best but things may never change. That was what I believe in and what the book is about," Neji said firmly.  
  
Naruto thought carefully about Neji's words and realized that what he said was partially true. It is never easy to change something but Naruto truly believes that dreams should never die because you never know what will happen. 'Just like the two of us," he thought, somewhat amused by the notion.  
  
"We are two completely different people but we are still able to meet and get along with each other. I guess that this is the fate in which Neji-san believes in but if we didn't try by ourselves to get to know each other, it would be useless to meet too. Thus I guess that you need both elements for things to work," Naruto said with a smile smile.  
  
Deep soft laughter could be heard from Neji, resonating in the quiet library. Neji said, "What you said is true. It has been quite some time since I had a conversation with any depth involved in it. It was mostly other people trying to make a conversation with frivolous topics. I enjoy talking with you. Naruto-kun." Neji reached his hands out to brush away some of Naruto's blond locks that had fallen upon his eyes. "You have a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes that shine as clear as the sun. Never try to hide them," Neji said huskily.  
  
What was once a warm tingle that Naruto had felt when he saw Neji turned into an electrifying one when Neji touched him. Naruto was shocked at his own response to Neji's touch and felt his face grow hot both from embarrassment and pleasure. "I won't." He nearly squeaked out his answer. The nearby clock chimed to indicate lunchtime and Naruto remembered his appointment with Sasuke. Looking with a hopeful smile at Neji, he asked, "Neji-san, I had a lunch appointment with a friend of mine. Would you like to join us?"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't since I have a meeting with some members of the student union soon. Why don't I meet you for lunch tomorrow instead? You could find me here at lunchtime." Neji replied, unable to resist the cute puppy look Naruto had directed at him.  
  
"Sure! That would be great. I will see you tomorrow here then. Bye, Neji- san!" Naruto replied happily before he practically skipped out of the library. He feels absurdly happy that he would be having a lunch date with Neji tomorrow. 'Date? I did not just thought something weird again about Neji-san, did I?' Naruto wondered to himself wildly. Shaking his head and berating himself for thinking too much, Naruto quickly made his way to the cafeteria to meet Sasuke. He was going to be late!  
  
=====================================================================  
  
Sasuke glanced around the crowded cafeteria for a sign of Naruto. In front of him was a pack of assorted sushi. Soon, he spotted Naruto navigating his way through the large crowd and towards him with a bright foxy smile on his face. 'He really looks like a fox smiling like that. A very cute fox,' Sasuke thought to himself.  
  
"Hey, Sasuke-kun. I hope I'm not late." Naruto said.  
  
"You're not late. I was here early." Sasuke said with a slight grin. 'To make sure there is a place to sit on my lunch date with you.' He added on mentally to himself.  
  
"I'll go get some ramen," Naruto said before running to his favorite stall, eagerly ordering three bowls of his beloved noodles from the old man who had already prepared his favorite customer's noodles. He came back quickly; expertly balancing three bowls of ramen on the tray and set it noiselessly onto the table.  
  
"You're really suited for your job at the teahouse, dobe," Sasuke said teasingly.  
  
Naruto blushed a faint pink before replying, "I thought so too."  
  
Both boys dug into their meal and started chatting on trivial topics when another bowl of ramen appeared beside Sasuke suddenly. Sasuke cast an irritated look at the person who dared interfered his date with Naruto and found to his immense wrath that it was none other than Gaara.  
  
"Hi, Naruto. Do you mind if I join you for lunch?" Gaara asked coolly. He looked down at Sasuke with a small smirk.  
  
"Oh...Sure! I didn't know you like ramen too, Gaara." Naruto said readily.  
  
"Well, I enjoy it occasionally," Gaara said. 'This is one of the rare times where I'm going to enjoy it to the fullest.' He thought to himself. He had seen the two having lunch and had a sudden evil idea of a great way to make the Uchiha upset. "What ramen are you having, Naruto?" Gaara asked again after making sure he had eaten some of his ramen and drank the soup.  
  
"I'm having miso ramen. What about you?" Naruto asked, not noticing that Sasuke was seething in front of him.  
  
"I am having the new special, spicy chicken ramen. Do you want to try some? It's really good!" Gaara replied with a smile.  
  
Naruto was amazed that Gaara was smiling. Normally, no one could even get the guy to look anything other than bored. Happy that Gaara was in a rare good mood, Naruto jumped at his offer. He took the spoon from Gaara and sip the soup, realizing that it really taste wonderful.  
  
"Wow, it's superb. I think I will try it the next time!" Naruto said excitedly and still oblivious to the boiling anger of Sasuke.  
  
With his eyes on Sasuke's livid onyx eyes, he said with a huge smirk, "I'm glad you like it too, Naruto."  
  
Sasuke's anger was almost at his limit. 'How dared he made use of dobe's naivety and made Naruto have an indirect kiss with him!' He screamed mentally. His fist was clenched and arms folded but he really wants to take a swing at Gaara for what he did. He glanced over at the dobe who is still happily eating his noodles, clueless to everything else. 'How innocent...and he belongs to me!' he screamed again mentally. Glaring at Gaara, he was about to shout at the bastard when Naruto gave a loud shriek, causing him to focus his attention on the blond once more. What he saw nearly made him passed out from experiencing too much anger and shock all at once.  
  
"Naru-chan, I missed you so much!" A guy with long black hair tied up in a high ponytail squealed happily. His arms were wrapped around Naruto's neck as he pulled Naruto's head to his chest.  
  
Naruto looked up to find Haku's smiling face looking back at him upside- down. When he got over his surprise at the sudden appearance of his best friend, Naruto twisted his body and jumped up to give Haku a huge bear hug.  
  
"What are you doing here? I thought you are supposed to be in Shinjuku," Naruto squealed back happily.  
  
"As I said, I missed you. Besides, didn't you email me to drop you a visit?" Haku said gently as he cupped Naruto's face in his hands.  
  
"But that was just yesterday! You must have planned way back for your visit. But I'm so happy you are here anyway so nothing else matters," Naruto replied gaily.  
  
Haku noticed both Gaara and Sasuke glaring at him and gave a smirk to both boys. "I didn't think that you would have two guard dogs hanging around you so soon just after you begin college. What happened to Shino? You fired him or something?" Haku asked Naruto, glaring right back at Sasuke and Gaara.  
  
Both Sasuke and Gaara growled slightly at Haku's remarks, their eyes turning murderous. Naruto realized that if he wanted to avoid any bloodshed, he had better separate all three people from each other as soon as possible. "What are you talking about? Gaara and Sasuke are both my friends so stop being so rude to them. Also, Shino is my childhood friend whom I trust with my life. No one will ever replace him!" He said hastily to Haku. Turning around to face Sasuke and Gaara, he gave an apologetic look before saying, "I'm sorry about Haku. He usually isn't like that. I think I'll cut our lunch short since I want to show him around. Umm...I will see you guys later." Naruto said weakly. He took Haku's arm and was leading the guy out of the cafeteria when Sasuke grabbed his arm and stopped him.  
  
"Dobe, is this guy your boyfriend?" Sasuke asked tensely.  
  
Naruto twisted around in a flash with a look of utter shock upon his face. "What makes you think that? He is just my best friend! I knew him way back in high school. I'll see you guys later," Naruto replied quickly. His face was red from what Sasuke was implying through his question and he had literally dragged Haku out of the cafeteria.  
  
Sasuke let a sigh of relief upon knowing that Haku is only Naruto's best friend. However, he still dislikes the fact that the guy had behaved so intimately with his dobe and also his rude comments. Glancing coolly at Gaara, he gave a soft sneer before turning to walk away. It seems that he would have to put in much more effort to woo Naruto.  
  
Gaara ignored Sasuke and walked in the opposite direction. He had thought the Haku guy was a major sissy with a foul mouth with his squealing and lousy attitude. After all, which decent guy, with the exception of Naruto who is just too cute and hyper for his own good, squeals? Shaking his head, he decided that he had enough of noisy humans for one day and headed to his favorite tree to seek his much needed solitude.  
  
No one noticed a pink-haired girl watching the whole incident from a corner with an amused face.  
  
=====================================================================  
  
Naruto walked tiredly to a small bench in the school garden and sat down with his back leaning heavily against the bench. Haku was so full of energy and made Naruto skipped his economics class to accompany him everywhere around the school. Although Naruto was happy to see his best friend again, he felt exasperated at being dragged all around the school by Haku at bone- breaking pace. 'And people always said that I was the hyper one who needs to slow down. I pity those gang members that is under Haku's control.' He thought sourly. It was only after Zabuza came using some force and a little seduction before Haku reluctantly said goodbye to Naruto with a glomp at his ass and ran after his bodyguard/boyfriend eagerly. Naruto closed his eyes and felt himself relaxed at the soft breeze of the wind on his face.  
  
"You seems to be really tired, Naruto-kun," Naruto heard a soft high voice saying. He opened his eyes and a beautiful vision of a girl with long pink hair and wide emerald eyes was standing right before him. Instantly straightening up his sloppy posture, Naruto eyes suddenly lit up with energy and he greeted Sakura loudly, "Sakura-chan! You are taking a walk in the garden too?"  
  
Sakura smiled prettily and said, "No, I was waiting for someone. He should be coming soon."  
  
It wasn't long after Sakura's reply when an energetic shout of Sakura's name could be heard from a green blur rapidly approaching them. Naruto was frozen in his seat when the green blur turns out to be a man with a bowl haircut and thick eyebrows. He was dressed in a weird-looking green bodysuit and was currently giving Sakura a hug and then a full kiss on the lips. 'A kiss on the lips! What the hell is this about?' Naruto yelled mentally. Naruto had decided that he had a crush on Sakura on the second day of college and was planning on ways to woo the lady when a weird little green man appeared out of nowhere and literally swept Sakura-chan off her feet with a kiss! He was still staring in shock when the couple finally finished their passionate making out session in his presence.  
  
Sakura looked at Naruto in concern before she started introducing both guys to one another. "Naruto-kun, this is my fiancé, Rock Lee. Rock, this is my college friend, Uzumaki Naruto."  
  
Lee put his left hand out to shake his hand with Naruto while he smiled widely, showing his gleaming white teeth. "So you are Naruto-kun. Sakura said that you were a man-killer in the campus with all the gorgeous men vying for your attention!" Lee said enthusiastically while pumping the hands hand out by Naruto firmly.  
  
Naruto could hardly registered Lee's words until he heard something about him being a men-killer. His eyes widened even more as he stared at Sakura with his mouth opened, all color draining from his face. Sakura decided that Naruto was most likely having an information overload and asked Lee sweetly to help them buy some drinks so she could talk alone with Naruto.  
  
"Naruto-kun, are you feeling fine? I know that you may find it weird and hard to accept that Lee is my fiancé all of a sudden because you like me, don't you?" Sakura said lightly.  
  
Naruto blinked his large blue eyes a few times before he shook his head a little. "I do find it hard to accept. I never thought you would have a fiancé. Lee-san is a little...weird but he seems to be totally devoted to you." Naruto said a little weakly.  
  
Sakura gave him a beautiful poignant smile. "I used to reject Lee all the time when he asked me out on dates. But he slowly worked his way into my heart to become someone irreplaceable. I only finally accepted his 999th try to get me to go out with him. That happens to be a date for the prom. Later, I found out that he records all the days, starting from the first day of high school until the day I accepted him, when he asked me for dates and was rejected. Now, he is the man I love most in the world... Naruto-kun, do you like guys?" She asked seriously.  
  
Naruto was caught off guard by the question. Why would he like any guys when he is a man himself? Then, he thought of Neji and felt a sudden jump in his heart. 'Don't tell me I really like guys!' he thought in a panic. His face was a mix of confusion and fear. Sakura observed him carefully before placing both her hands on his shoulders to calm him down.  
  
"Naruto-kun, I am not saying you are a homosexual because I know that you feel attracted to girls too. But have you ever thought that you are actually a bisexual? Besides, there is nothing wrong with two guys being in love. The society has opened up and the people are more open-minded now, you know." Sakura consoled him with a slight giggle.  
  
Naruto thought carefully about Sakura words. It is true that he felt an attraction to both sexes. He felt it with Neji and sometimes with Sasuke and Gaara too. However, if that was so, why didn't he notice all that when he was in an all-boys school? 'Because everyone couldn't be bothered with you with the exception of Haku, you clueless idiot!' his mind retorted. "So I'm what Sakura said. I'm a bisexual?' he asked himself again. 'Yes! Get over it already!' his sub-consciousness snapped back impatiently. Taking a deep breath, Naruto felt himself slowly come to accept this fact. After all, he had suspected before but he just never want to discuss with anyone about it because he felt awkward about it. At least now he could be certain about those weird feelings he have when he met some guys he is attracted too. He felt a headache coming on. No matter how easily he could accept this new information about his sexual orientation or about his crush, Sakura, he still felt that he knew too much for his own good in one day. In fact, he is going to have a lunch date with Neji tomorrow and he feels a little fearful of it now! He needed to rest to know what to do without causing any sort of embarrassment tomorrow.  
  
Naruto gave Sakura a weak smile. "Thanks for helping understand so many things, Sakura-chan. But I still need some more time to absorb all these new information. I think I will go home now to have a good rest and clear my mind. I hope you are happy with Lee-san," he said softly. Standing up, he waved his hands at Sakura before walking away.  
  
Sakura stared at the direction in which Naruto had gone. Her face suddenly lit up in excitement. Lee stood at her side, holding out a bottle of green tea to her and asked, "Sakura, why do you look so excited?"  
  
"Lee, I could feel that a very interesting love drama is going to unfold in our school. It would probably be full of trials and tribulations for two men who are in love to try to be together. But in this particular case, one of the men vying for the uke would have to win the fight first. In fact, I just gave one of the main characters a push! I hope he could find the same kind of happiness I did," Sakura said breathlessly, eyes sparkling with anticipation.  
  
Lee let out a small sign and said to Sakura, "You must be reading all those yaoi love drama stories of yours again. But I agree with you on the last part. Everyone deserves to find the happiness we did." He wound his arms around Sakura's waist, his chin resting on her head. 'Everyone,' he whispered.  
  
=====================================================================  
  
TBC...  
  
**Next Chapter:** Lunch date with Neji! What will happen with Sasuke and Gaara? Maybe Itachi will make a short appearance in the meanwhile like Haku to provide more excitement? Keep a lookout for the next chapter to find out!  
  
Before I forget, there is also a little bad news for those who wish for a quick update... my school break has ended and I'm having a crazy class schedule of having to spend up to 10 hours in school sometimes. I also would be having projects and assignments to work on so I will be slower with the update. Most probably about once every two weeks, which I think is rather reasonable. I will try to update as fast as possible seeing how much I like to receive reviews and comments on my stories. XD  
  
**Plot and character mumbles:** After a long struggle with my bad flu and also a blackout that wiped out my unsaved work, chapter 3 is finally completed!

I think quite a lot of people must be surprised with the role that Sakura is playing. I had read so many fics where Sakura is either a Sasuke-crazed girl or bad third party. Although I'm not a big fan of the lady myself, I thought it would be fun to have something unexpected. Anyway, don't you think my pairing of Sakura x Lee is quite cute and charming and utterly crazy? I always picture Lee as a little green man because of his green bodysuit. Sasuke's fan club president will have to be some other girl that I think most of you would have guess it by now (I mean which is the other lady that has got a thing for Sasuke and it's shown on the anime clearly?).

I hope all Neji x Naru fans are happy with how things are going between the two. But if anyone is thinking that Neji is the likely winner, Sasuke and Gaara haven't done their best yet (they didn't even really start yet). For Naruto to be able to accept that he likes guys too, he has to be attracted to someone. I figure that Neji would at least be a start. Besides, I figured many would be happier to see the other two males working their asses off for Naru's heart! This is a drama I created so no uke or seme would be having an easy time... evil chuckles I hope everyone was pleasantly surprised with Haku's appearance. Don't expect this to be the end of it though...he lives to distract our uke and irritate the semes (and also to love Zabuza). X3  
  
Some explanation: My beta was asking me why the characters (esp. Naruto) were speaking in such perfect English when some of them was speaking in slightly broken language, and suggest that I should explain it here in case other people had the same question. Most of the characters in this fic come from rather good breeding. (Actually, this is about all I could say without providing spoilers.) This is an AU fic and most of the characters come from rather good breedings so the perfect English that they are speaking is actually the equivalent of polite Japanese. The characters are more likely to cuss. You will understand what I mean as the story goes on and you uncover the background of each character.  
  
Finally... some characters profiles for you to better understand this AU fic of mine. Btw, character profiles will only be put up if it does not contain too much spoilers...  
  
**Character Profiles  
**  
**Introducing the loving couple...  
**  
**Haruno Sakura:** She is an extremely intelligent and sweet girl who loves her fiancé, Rock Lee, the most in this world. She finds Naruto's predicament in the love triangle very interesting and extremely amusing. Whenever Naruto have problems in area of love, he confides in her. A lover of Yaoi, Sakura takes much keen interest in this relationship and thinks of it as a full- blown drama waiting to be reviled for her entertainment. She has her sadistic side and it is not good to get her angry with you, as Lee will tell you from personal experience.  
  
**Rock Lee:** Sakura's beloved fiancé who also becomes friends with Naruto. Hardworking and honest, he made a promise to himself to try his best for Sakura in whatever he does. He is aware of both sides of Sakura (the sweet girl and the sadist) but loves her nonetheless. His family owns the most famous and prestigious Karate dojo in all of Japan and he is the heir. His all-time idol is his karate teacher, Gai-sensei, who imparts not only the karate skills but also the style of having bowl haircut and thick eyebrows.  
  
Not too much spoilers...I hope.  
  
**Reviews:  
**  
Thanks to IceHeart19 and Teki Star for helping to beta! Also, thanks again to Teki Star for her card. You made my day with it!  
  
Thanks to Manga-lover123, Dark Mimiru-Chan, ysth83, Cookie6, RuBMoOn17, Kisu, Lucifer, theivious racooness, TheTrueSilver, Mister Pineapple, Yaoilover S, Masqued, Jessie-chan, love-chibis, MarronSorrow and Karz for your reviews.  
  
MaroonSorrow: I will revise my previous chapters when I have the time...  
  
Love-chibis: ShikaNaru? I will have to think about it.... because I had plans for Shikamaru but I may changed my mind so you never know...  
  
Ysth83: I'm glad you love it. :D  
  
Lucifer: Thanks for reading! I'm glad you find it cute! I'll put in some smut later... we both know we love it.   
  
IceHeart19: Sakura and Gaara would not be siblings. However, he does have his own siblings.  
  
Please R&R!


	4. Morning of Pampering and Heated Confront...

**Walk On **

**By RedMirage aka Kei-Chan  
**  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!  
  
**Pairings:** Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto, Zabuza x Haku, Lee x Sakura...others still a secret. :P  
  
**Warnings:** AU and contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.  
  
**Rating:** **PG - 13** but may rise to **R** later in the story...  
  
**Summary:** A teahouse romance... A library romance... And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location. With Naruto as the ultimate uke... Who will finally win his heart and body? Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.

* * *

"" indicates speech

'' indicates thoughts

_italics_ shows an emphasize on the word.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Morning of Pampering and Heated Confrontations! Fangirls United!  
**  
Gaara was enjoying the peaceful morning under the shade of an old oak tree when he saw the distant figure of Naruto, who seems to be walking with a slight slump in his shoulders, approaching in his direction. He frowned a little when he was able to clearly see that Naruto had a perplexed expression on his face, which was a great difference from his normally cheerful face. 'I wonder which idiot dared to mess with Naruto. Didn't they know that he is a precious friend of mine?' Gaara wondered to himself. In a short period of time, Naruto had not only made Gaara accept him as his first real friend but Gaara had also developed a protective streak over the blonde. He could not understand why, but somehow he felt that if Naruto were to become sad or unhappy, he would also be unhappy. That would not spell well for whichever unlucky soul that had caused the unhappiness.  
  
"Naruto!" Gaara called out when the blonde was within hearing distance.  
  
Naruto looked around his surrounding when he heard someone called out his name and spotted Gaara sitting under the tree. His slight but muscular body was spread out lazily on the soft grass as he leaned his back against the tree. Naruto sauntered slowly to where Gaara was sitting and plopped down heavily on the grass. He stared at Gaara's unwavering face for a while before turning his head away, blushing a faint pink as he remembered about yesterday's startling revelation on his sexuality. He felt as though his mouth had been sewn up tightly, unable to even say a simple greeting to Gaara. He lowered his head, feeling even worse as he thought about his lunch date with Neji today. 'How am I going to face Neji-san when I can't even behave normally in front of Gaara right now?' he wondered miserably.  
  
Gaara's eyes never left Naruto's bowed head as he observed the normally perky blonde's uncharacteristic silence further. He seemed to be in deep thoughts and his cheeks were slightly red. 'Is he having a fever?' Gaara wondered to himself. He crawled around to position himself in front of Naruto who was oblivious to his surrounding and suddenly leaned forward to place his cool forehead against Naruto's.  
  
Naruto felt something nice and cool touching his forehead while his unfocused eyes were staring at a pair of familiar emerald ones. Snapping back to reality, Naruto gave a loud scream before he smacked his head hard against the bark of the oak tree, in his haste to create distance between Gaara and himself. Naruto clutched the back of his head with his hands, whimpering pathetically. He felt his eyes tear from the pain of the harsh knock. He glanced up with a glare at Gaara before yelling slightly, "What do you think you were doing back there, Gaara? You gave me such a scare!"  
  
Gaara frowned a little at Naruto's rare show of temper and pursed his lips together as he continued to stare unflinchingly at Naruto. Naruto was staring right back at him, his face red and lips in a petulant pout. Gaara felt his lips curved into a rare lazy smile as he laughed out loud at the pathetically adorable picture that Naruto made at the moment. He leaned forward once again and pulled Naruto forward until it seemed as though he was holding the blonde against his chest. He took off Naruto's hands from his head with surprising gentleness as he replaced it with his own to rub the soft blonde head. Naruto was caught by surprise yet again with Gaara's unpredictable movements but found him unresisting towards the man's action this time round. He felt Gaara's firm hands rubbing his aching head in slow gentle circles while his nose breathe in the spicy scent that was Gaara's from the well-defined chest. It was like a double attack on his senses as he felt himself relaxed and melted under the redhead's treatment.  
  
"Can you now tell me what is bothering you?" Gaara asked in a husky voice, his hands still rubbing Naruto's head.  
  
Naruto felt his heart skipped a beat as he heard Gaara's question. "Hmm... nothing is bothering me," he mumbled against the redhead's chest.  
  
Gaara persist with his question yet again. "I know something is bothering you. You have been acting unusual this morning. Or is it that you don't trust me enough to confide in me?" Gaara asked again with a little hurt crept into his voice. He was determined to know what was troubling the small blonde and used Naruto's weakness against him to make him talk.  
  
As expected, Naruto felt himself crumble against Gaara's clever interrogation and gave a soft exasperated sigh before he removed his head from the bigger man's chest. He looked carefully into Gaara's eyes as he asked wearily, "What if I tell you I'm a bisexual and I only found out yesterday? That I sometimes found myself admiring you...in a different way?"  
  
Gaara's expression was one of amusement as he answered, "What if I tell you that I'm a bisexual and that I found out about it a long ago. That I knew about you appreciating me in that different way you were saying. Naruto, you're smart but you can also be completely oblivious about a lot of things."  
  
Naruto's eyes widen at Gaara's answer as he replied in a numbed little voice, "I... you're right. I always seem to be the last one finding out about such things. Wait... you're a bisexual?"  
  
Gaara looked at Naruto with an amused smirk before snorting an "Hn" as his reply. Sometimes, it was unbelievable how clueless the blonde can be.  
  
Naruto nodded his head a little shakily before asking again. "So... How was it like? Did you have problems with your relationships in life from it?" he asked in a hesitant little voice.  
  
"No, I don't. Being a bisexual is just like a normal straight guy or a homosexual. The only difference is that you _really_ don't care which sex your partner is. So, stop looking like you are facing the most horrible crisis of your life," Gaara replied flatly.  
  
Naruto rested his head against his palms as the full meaning of Gaara's words seeped into his brain and suddenly he felt a lot calmer about everything as though a very heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He realized how jumbled up his emotions and thoughts must have been that he had failed to see the whole picture and analyze the situation correctly. Feeling immensely grateful to Gaara for helping him with his little crisis, Naruto gave a bright foxy smile at the cool guy before thanking him earnestly. He fall back against the grass, suddenly feeling tired from his restless sleep the night before. As the back of his injured head touched the grassy ground, Naruto's body immediately shot up from it as he clutched his head once again with a yelp of pain. Gaara shook his head at the blonde's foolishness before he started to pull him into a hug of sorts again and continued rubbing the small guy's head again. Naruto felt his face flushed in embarrassment and slight indignation from how Gaara was treating him like a little kid and how the redhead was being unusually nice today. "Gaara," he whined a little, "you are so unbelievably nice today."  
  
"Hmm... I am, aren't I? Well, you earned it with how stupid yet brilliant you can be, so you better enjoy it now. Like you said, it's something unbelievable and so it may not happen a second time," Gaara said with a slight smirk.  
  
Naruto pouted a little at Gaara's comment but choose not to reply and just enjoy the nice, rare treatment that his usually cold friend granted. He felt himself falling asleep under the wonderful firm caresses of warm soothing fingers. Gaara gazed down at the contented creature that was rapidly falling asleep and practically purring under his skilful massaging. His lips curved into a gentle smile that no one had ever seen before as he continued pampering his tired friend until it was nearly time for their German class.  
  
=====================================================================  
  
Gaara and Naruto walked slowly to their German class in companionable silence. The blonde had woken up with a better mood, feeling utterly refreshed under his friend's skillful hands and also the earnest chat, which cleared up his doubts and insecurities greatly. Now, he was feeling like his usual cheerful self instead of the sad depressed state from the morning earlier on. He had been a little embarrassed when he found his head cradled in Gaara's lap and had sheepishly apologized to his friend who had accepted with a shrug. He started humming a little tune as they neared the building. Soon after they stepped into the hallway of the lecture block, twin screams could be heard from two loud womanly voices.  
  
"Uzumaki Naruto!"  
  
Suddenly, the bustling hallway became an uncomfortable silence. Naruto, at hearing his name being screamed, scanned his surroundings and looked between his front and back confusedly at two angry girls who had yelled his name for all to hear.  
  
"Um... may I help you?" Naruto asked a little lamely, not knowing what to expect from this strange situation he got suddenly thrown into.  
  
The two women promptly begin walking towards him menacingly.  
  
"You could really help me, Uzumaki-san," said the raven-haired girl sharply.  
  
Naruto felt himself backed away into Gaara, who was standing stoically at the side.  
  
"If you could keep your filthy little hands off my..." both girls continued in an eerily same sharp tone.  
  
"Sasuke-sama!" the blond girl yelled.  
  
"Neji-sama!" the raven-haired girl shouted at the same time.  
  
"K...Keep my hands off them?" Naruto stuttered out.  
  
"Don't act innocent with me, Uzumaki-san. I know and have seen how you have been seducing Sasuke-sama with your adorable good looks. Sasuke-sama is not the same as you, so stop your pitiful attempts to try and bring him down to the same level as you!" the blonde further continued, her eyes flashing.  
  
"Yes, what that blondie said. You should stop trying to bring Neji-sama down with you too! Neji-sama is the heir of the Hyuuga group and he has great responsibilities to handle. Your rendezvous with him at the library should end. I had kept quiet about it at first but now that you have successfully tricked Neji-sama to have a lunch date with you, I will not let it go! Neji-sama needs someone who can help relieve his burden and I'm the most suitable person for that. As the person who is going to marry Neji- sama, I'll not allow pests like you to try and ruin our lives." The raven- haired woman joined in with the accusations.  
  
Naruto bit down on his soft lips as it became clear to him what this is all about. Indignation flared in his chest at those unfair accusations and the fact that the raven-haired girl had most probably eavesdropped and spied on his meetings with Neji. "And may I know who I'm speaking to?" Naruto asked in a soft angered voice.  
  
"I am Yamanaka Ino, the president of the Uchiha Sasuke Official Fan Club," the blonde said haughtily.  
  
"I am Tenten, the president of the Hyuuga Neji Official Fan Club. My present surname is none of your concern because if I marry Neji-sama, I will naturally take up the Hyuuga name, too," The raven-haired lady said proudly.  
  
Naruto took a deep breath before speaking again. "Yamanaka-san, Tenten-san, I'm not going spend any time trying to convince you otherwise since both of you have stated clearly that you are the fangirls of these guys and I know that obsessed fangirls do not listen to reason. The two men you are talking about happen to be my precious friends and I will never stop my friendship with them for such silly matters. Besides, it's rude to eavesdrop on others, Tenten-san. If you really aspire to be the perfect wife for your Neji-sama, you should first start learning some basic etiquettes," he said bravely with a hint of distaste in his voice.  
  
"You dumb blonde!" Ino growled at Naruto.  
  
"Stop scolding yourself, Yamanaka-san," Gaara said coolly as he walked to stand beside Naruto. "And Tenten, Naruto is the heir to the Uzu Empire, which is the top company of Japan rivaled only by the Hyuuga group. You may be really intelligent but you should stop looking down on everyone, thinking they are inferior to you and Neji. Don't let me catch anyone trying to mess with Naruto too. I don't appreciate my friend getting hurt in _any_ way," Gaara said, his voice laced with ice.  
  
Ino's face turned red at the insult that Gaara had indirectly thrown at her. "Gaara-sempai, I hope you know what you are doing," she said icily.  
  
"I think that is what I should be saying to you," Gaara said, his eyes narrowing.  
  
Ino stormed off angrily, mumbling curses under her breathe. "Just you wait, Uzumaki Naruto!" She thought crossly to herself.  
  
Tenten looked at Naruto and Gaara, a little stunned that the blonde was the heir of Uzu Empire and very angry at Naruto for his insinuation that she was not good enough for Neji, but quickly regained her composure again. "I see you also tried your moves on Gaara. Even if you are the heir of the Uzu Empire, you're still nothing but a low little slut to me. Don't think this is the end. You should watch your back carefully if you choose to continue to pester Neji-sama. Even if everyone is afraid of what you can do, I will not back down from this fight for Neji-sama's sake, Gaara-san." Tenten said with hard determination before she walked away.  
  
Gaara looked around at the crowd with a homicidal glare and the onlookers quickly resumed what they were doing before the commotion started. He looked back at Naruto who gave him a tired smirk and they continued walking to their class.  
  
"How in the hell did Sasuke-kun have a fan club set up for him when it was barely a week since he entered college?" Naruto asked aloud before sighing a little.  
  
"There are all kinds of weird things happening in this world, so just treat this as one of them," the redhead said.  
  
"Weird things huh? Gaara.... Do you by any chance also have a fan club established with a scary woman for a president? I would hate to think that someday another obsessed fangirl president is going to chase me down like what just happened," Naruto said with a grimace. It would be really tiring to have to face such confrontations again, especially when the other party is not open to reasoning.  
  
"Don't worry. Even if I do have one, no matter how fierce that president may be, she can never win me," Gaara said with a mocking grin.  
  
Naruto laughed at what Gaara said. "What class are you having in the afternoon?" he asked.  
  
"Music," Gaara replied.  
  
"I see... Hey, what happened to the music composition you were working on that day? Are you done with it?" Naruto asked again.  
  
"I am writing the lyrics now. After some refining and polishing, it should be done. You want to hear it?" Gaara asked, turning slightly to look at Naruto.  
  
"Of course I want to! It would be an honor to be able to listen first-hand to the music composed by the future Director of Sand Records International," the blonde said teasingly.  
  
Gaara gave a light smack on Naruto's head causing the blonde to frown a little at the pain with a pout. "So, you know Hyuuga?" he asked casually.  
  
"You mean Neji-san? Well, I met him at the library and got along really well with him. Why do you ask?" Naruto asked Gaara curiously.  
  
"Nothing. I just thought it interesting. That's all," Gaara replied.  
  
Gaara had known Hyuuga from some of his classes and both men had shown an odd acceptance towards each other, which is rather unusual since both men are famous for their cold personalities and rather anti-social ways. People would have a better time believing that these two popular men are rivals who hate each other's guts. Gaara had always thought of Neji as an intelligent and mature being and thus had a little admiration for the guy. However, he still felt a little jealous at hearing about Naruto's secret meetings with Neji that even _he_ had no idea about. In fact, he did not think that anyone in the campus knew about it except for Tenten, the Neji- obsessed stalker. 'Well, now the whole campus will know with that noisy confrontation just now,' Gaara thought to himself. He had a gut feeling that Naruto would soon be in a lot of trouble and he was going to be dragged into it somehow.  
  
Naruto felt a slight headache coming on. It had been an eventful morning. First, he had a little conversation with Gaara who had eased his insecurities along with some pampering from the redhead, which had placed him back to his cheerful good mood. Then, before he could start his morning class of German lesson with Kakashi-sensei, a confrontation with two angry, stalker fangirls had broke out right in the hallway. He had no doubts that, by tomorrow, rumors of Neji, Sasuke and him would be spreading like fire. He had even considered that Gaara might be dragged into this nonsense, too. Barely a week of college and he felt like there will be even more troubles for him to deal with in the future. But at least he had his lunch date with Neji-san today as a consolation.  
  
Both Naruto and Gaara settled down at their seats as Kakashi-sensei started his lesson in his usual bored, lazy tone. It would be a long time before lunch came by and Naruto could hardly wait for it.  
  
=====================================================================  
  
TBC  
  
**Next Chapter:** Lunch date with Neji! (For real this time) What will happen with Sasuke? What about a short appearance from Itachi? Keep a lookout for the next chapter to find out!  
  
Wah...so many deadlines for me to catch up on! If I were rather late with my updates, it would be due to my school assignments and projects. Now that I've more or less settle down for the new school year, hopefully I can manage my time better. I will try to update as fast as possible seeing how much I like to receive reviews and comments on my stories. XD  
  
**Plot and character mumbles:** Chapter 4 is finally up with a late update from me. Thanks to one of my beta, Iceheart, for her nag mail. It made me work faster on the story.

This chapter was actually supposed to be about Naruto's lunch date with Neji but because Naruto had just found out about his sexual orientation, it would be weird for him to act all happy and mushy around Neji during the date. It would also be also be rather painful to read if I have to write about Naruto being embarrassed or uncomfortable around Neji nearly all the time. I choose instead, to write about Naruto having some sort of a heart- to-heart chat and also some counseling with a friend. Which better friend to choose (with the exception of Haku who is miles away) than Gaara, whose status with Naruto is still currently one of a friendship? This chapter would also help the affections between the two friends to grow too. Besides, it would be unfair that all the other guys get to have more intimate moments with Naruto while Gaara ends up looking like a side dish in the end.

I had made Naruto stand up bravely to scary fan girls. I was quite happy that I wrote it that way. Tenten was quite OOC but it was needed for the plot. (She took the place of Sakura as the scary and noisy fangirl) I hope I made the right decision. It took me quite some time to come up with the idea for the Gaara-Naruto interaction so I do hope readers enjoy them.  
  
**Character Profiles  
**  
**Introducing the fangirls aka stalking bitches...  
**  
**Yamanaka Ino:** Ino is a very intelligent young lady but blinded about everything else when it comes to her wonderful and beloved Sasuke-sama. Thus she dislikes Naruto and accuses the poor innocent guy of seducing and bringing down her Sasuke-sama to the dark side. She is the President of the Uchiha Sasuke Official Fan Club.  
  
**Tenten:** This young lady is very much like Ino but the difference lies in the fact that she thought herself to be the most suitable woman for her Neji-sama and is bent on getting Neji to marry her. She tries to get rid of Naruto in every way possible but nothing work. Ten Ten has declared war on Naruto ever since she found out about Neji's attraction to him. She is the President of the Hyuuga Neji Official Fan Club. There is nothing that she does not know about Neji with her excellent spying skills.  
  
Not too much spoilers...I hope.  
  
**Reviews:  
**  
As always, thanks to IceHeart19 and Teki Star for helping to beta!  
  
Thanks to Kashisenshey, some random person, cookie6, demonic inc, Muchacha, Ria Sakazaki, Yasai-chan, ysth83, Lena, Kori Nibiki, Kamikakushi, Sierra- Falls, Aori Tsuki, Gi wo mite sezaru wa ya n, RuByMoOn17, Masqued, and jts for your reviews. That was some really great reviews I got from all of you!  
  
Some random person: Glad you find the fic interesting. However, this part 'I know everything because I am H. Kaito but no one except Hinata-chan knows,' is actually Neji's thoughts. Thus unless Naruto could mind-read, he does not know that Neji is H. Kaito yet. Neji is keeping his identity as a writer a secret from everyone but Hinata. Sorry if I got you confused. Haku looks incredibly feminine so I think he could pull of the high ponytail look. I was influence by the gay samurai movie 'Gohatto'. Matsuda Ryuuhei, who plays Kano in the movie, had a high ponytail too! (But his hair was much shorter) As for the gangster part of Haku's life, it will be explain in future chapters as the plot go on. ;;  
  
Kashisenshey: I'm honored that I manage to make you enjoy the fic.  
  
Ysth83: I hope you like the action in this chapter. Anyway, the irony is cleared now since the secret meetings are no more a secret after this chapter, ne?  
  
Lena: How do you like Gaara in this chapter?  
  
IceHeart19: I hope the pacing is correct for the story. I didn't want the whole thing to move too fast but neither do I want it to drag. Thus the main purpose for this chapter. Btw, nag mails of your kind do work well on me. If you think I'm rather behind on my updates, you're welcome to nag me about it.   
  
Kori Nibiki and Aori Tsuki: Another two votes for ShikaNaru? Maybe I'll really incorporate some hints of pairings into the fic.  
  
Kamikakushi: As you can see, Gaara is a musician of sorts. :)  
  
Sierra-Falls: I must continue this fic since I have to write to the end to know who ends up with Naruto too. I'm as anxious about it as everyone else. :D  
  
Jts: Dining will occur in the next chapter but this chapter has strong hints of romantic affections somehow, don't you think so? Even though I stated Naruto as the ultimate uke, I'll never turn him into a pushover. He will be a pushover only in bed. Out of it, he could think intelligently while still being clueless about tons of stuff. XD  
  
**Please R&R! **


	5. Homemade Bento and Tickets to a Photo Ex...

**Walk On**

**By RedMirage aka Kei-Chan**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!

**Pairings:** Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto, Zabuza x Haku, Lee x Sakura...others still a secret. :P

**Warnings:** AU and contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.

**Rating: PG - 13** but may rise to **R** later in the story...

**Summary: **

A teahouse romance... A library romance... And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location.With Naruto as the ultimate uke... Who will finally win his heart and body?

Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.

**Chapter 5: Homemade Bento and Tickets to a Photo Exhibition**

Neji leaned against one of the pillars in the library with a bento in hand, waiting for Naruto so that they could have their lunch together on the rooftop of the library. He rubbed his temple a little as he thought about the news he had heard this morning that had spread like wildfire throughout the entire campus. He was still rather skeptical about the news of confrontation between Naruto, Tenten and another president of some other guy's fan club. He always knew about Tenten's obsession with him but he did not expect things to become this bad. He was also angry that Tenten had apparently spied on him yet again, even when he had repeatedly warned her against it and felt sorry for Naruto about what happened. After all, girls are troublesome creatures as Shikamaru always said and fangirls are a thousand times worse. He had woke up rather early in the morning and prepared a large bento for their lunch. He just hoped that Naruto would not feel uncomfortable around him after that horrible confrontation. Neji saw a blond cheery face rapidly approaching his direction and felt a great relief that Naruto did not seem to be upset at him. In fact, the blonde was positively beaming at him.

Naruto was practically bouncing to the library in his excitement to meet Neji. He wondered why Neji did not ask to meet at the cafeteria for lunch instead of the library. 'Well, it will be good to take a little stroll to the cafeteria with Neji-san.' he thought happily to himself. He should really thank Gaara some more since it was the redhead who had helped to cheer him up in the morning, despite the unhappy occurrences. 'I will have to treat Gaara to dinner someday!' Naruto decided mentally. As Naruto looked around the library, he spotted Neji leaning against one of the white pillars, looking dapper in a simple yet sophisticated soft blue blouse and a pair of dark gray slacks. 'He really looks good in anything,' Naruto thought to himself as he gave an appreciative glance at Neji's choice of dressing before approaching the man with a smile on his face.

"Neji-san!" Naruto greeted in an enthusiastic soft voice. He did not want to disturb the peace of the library by being too loud.

"Naruto-kun," Neji greeted back with a soft smile.

"So, should we make our way to the cafeteria now?" Naruto asked.

Neji shook his head and tapped the bento in his hand lightly. "Let's go to the rooftop to have our meal that I prepared for us," he said lightly and started to lead Naruto to the staircase that would take them to the rooftop.

Naruto's eyes widened a little when he heard that Neji had specially prepared a bento for their lunch and felt his heart skipped a beat at the older boy's thoughtfulness. He gave a bright adoring smile at the man's back and followed Neji's lead while his stomach gave a low rumble.

Naruto could not believe the view before him. Who knew that the library's rooftop offered such beautiful scenery of the Konoha University? From Naruto's position, he could clearly see the trees and flowers that lined the buildings and sidewalk, creating a harmony of colors with the sun shining down on them. He wondered how the whole scene would change when the sun sets. He felt a hand on his shoulder and the soft baritone of Neji's voice near his ear.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Neji asked quietly.

"Yeah, it is. It's even more amazing that we are the only ones here. Now I understand why you want to have our meal here," Naruto replied, still slightly in awe at the amazing display before him. Somehow, he had a sudden urge to find and drag Gaara and Sasuke to this seemingly unexplored piece of picture-prefect view.

"Everyone is too busy to stop and have a good look at their surroundings. They missed out on many wonderful things that simple beauty of nature had provided us with. Not many people come up here and for me, that was a good thing. I can appreciate this simple beauty of nature better in silence. Shall we start our meal now that we have both the ambiance and wonderful homemade cooking of mine in our presence?" Neji asked with a mockingly deep gentleman voice. He was glad that Naruto had enjoyed the unexpectedly beautiful view and wondered a little to himself when Naruto's opinions had become to mean so much to him.

Naruto laughed a little at what Neji said as he proceeded to sit on a shaded spot provided by the shadow of the building. Neji settled himself opposite of Naruto and took off the cloth and lid of the bento. He grinned as he watched Naruto looking adorably starved and drooling at the grand spread of sushi before him. It felt good to know that his efforts at making some great tasting sushi had paid off. He knew he was good at cooking even though he didn't do it often and he had a housekeeper to cook his meals.

Naruto felt his stomach rumbled louder than ever at the mouth-watering sushi before him. It seemed so well made that he wondered if Neji had really made them himself! He grabbed the chopsticks that Neji handed to him eagerly and shouted a loud "Itadakimasu!" before he droved into the food. Naruto was cupping his cheeks in his hands as he savor the taste of the salmon sushi swirling within his mouth. It tasted superb, though not as good as ramen, which is his favorite food of all time.

"Neji-san, anytime you want to quit from your job as a CEO of your company due to stress issues in the future, promise me you will choose to become a chef as your second choice of career!" Naruto groaned out, as he stuffed himself with some egg sushi.

Neji laughed when he heard Naruto's words. "I'll be sure to kept that compliment and piece of advice in my heart," he said while his hand reached out to ruffle the blonde's head. "So... I heard about what happened this morning..." Neji trailed off and waited to see if Naruto wants to talk to him about what happened.

Naruto stared off into the space at the question and said softly but firmly, "I was angry with those fangirls... but they are impossible to argue with and I just couldn't be bothered. But it's over... or at least I think so. One thing for sure though, is that they can never stop me from being friends with you and Sasuke."

Neji smirked at Naruto's answer. It seems like Naruto had no intention to avoid him in the future because of some stupid, obsessive fangirls so his worry was unfounded. He had long acknowledged that Naruto had gotten through the social barriers that he had put up to discourage others from getting too close to him and had become someone essential and irreplaceable in his life. Uzumaki Naruto had wormed his way into his heart in this short period of time that they had known each other and he would be there to stay. Neji had found someone else other than Hinata to care for and he was happy about it. He picked up a piece of eel sushi with his chopsticks and placed them before Naruto's mouth.

"Try this. It is my specialty," Neji offered.

Naruto stared at the eel sushi before him and blushed as little, noting that Neji was actually feeding him unconsciously. He took the sushi daintily into his mouth from Neji's chopsticks and chew on the sushi somewhat slowly.

"It's delicious!" Naruto said and swallow it down before continuing, "You weren't kidding when you said it is your specialty."

Naruto's blush deepened as he took up a piece of eel sushi also and offered it to Neji. "Y...You should eat more too, Neji-san," he said shyly.

Neji blinked at Naruto's shy tone of voice and give a slight smirk at the blonde's awkwardness before he ate the sushi from Naruto's chopstick too.

"Hmm... Somehow, it tasted even better when you feed me," Neji teased, taking delight that Naruto's face had become red from his comments. The boy was just so fun to mess with!

Naruto kept his silence and stuffed more eel sushi into his mouth while he looked around his surroundings to try to hide his blush. The two men continued eating in comfortable silence, occasionally making small talks and laughing at some of the jokes they shared.

=====================================================================

Naruto had hoped that time would pass slowly so that he could spend more time in the company of Neji. It was a thoroughly enjoyable lunch and Neji was interesting to talk to with his witty comments and sarcastic sense of humor. Naruto grinned as he remembered about how Neji had fed him the eel sushi. That moment was so surreal that if someone were to tell him that he was dreaming it, he would have believed him or her. Naruto glanced sideways to look at Neji and couldn't help but hold his breathe at the sight of Neji with his eyes closed and loose tendrils of hair that had escape the ponytail being teased by the soft breeze. It was beautiful and he felt his heart skipped a beat watching him. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the startling image until he realized that Neji's unusual silvery-white eyes were opened and boring into his own blue eyes.

"You're staring at me. I must be looking really magnificent for you to do that," Neji said lazily, with a smirk on his face.

Naruto laughed sheepishly and shrugged his shoulders before replying softly, "That's because you are magnificent."

Neji halted a little at Naruto's words and felt a slight unfamiliar ache in his stomach. 'Did I just hear that right?' he wondered a little incredulously to himself. He was just teasing Naruto again but the blonde's reply had surprised him. He was about to ask Naruto to elaborate on what he said when the familiar chime of the school's bell indicated the end of lunch hour.

Naruto quickly took this opportunity to suggest that they should go for their lessons soon while cursing at his slip of words. He almost ruined everything. Naruto did not want to think what will happen if Neji were to know about his attraction for him. Not everyone is like Gaara and he did not even know whether Neji is straight, homosexual or a bisexual like him. If he were to be a straight guy, would he be scared off knowing about how Naruto felt for him?

Neji was about to stop Naruto from leaving and to explain when he felt another presence besides them at the rooftop that he did not notice earlier. His eyes narrowed as he said to Naruto, "Naruto, you can go first. I'm waiting for someone here. Let's have another lunch like this together sometime soon, okay?"

Naruto nodded his head at Neji's sudden changed of attitude but decided not to question it. It seemed like Neji was not angry with him but at someone else. He bid his goodbyes and walked towards the exit. Whoever that person was, he should really be careful since Neji sounded a little pissed.

"Stopped hiding and reveal yourself," Neji stated flatly to the empty space before him.

"I see that you have discovered my presence, Neji-sama," a firm female voice said as someone stepped out from within the shadows.

"So, it's you Tenten-san. Why am I not surprised?" Neji remarked sarcastically.

=====================================================================

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting at a table and tapping a pair of tickets lightly as his face was set in a frown. He wanted to ask Naruto out on a date to a photo exhibition with him but was unsure of how he should go about asking. He knew that he had fallen fast and hard for the cute blonde but he had absolutely no idea what Naruto thought of him. He did not have a clue whether the jovial boy is a homosexual like him or just a straight guy. He hoped it was not the latter or he had a feeling he would be suffering from some serious unrequited love-ache. 'At least let him be a bisexual,' he prayed mentally. Sasuke had never felt so strongly for someone. His past relationships were based more on lust than love. On his side, there was probably little or no love at all. But Naruto was different from everyone else he had met. He was captivated at first sight by the blonde and he knew he wanted Naruto in every possible way after their first little chat in the teahouse. Naruto had this happy, vibrant yet calming aura about him and Sasuke was like a moth drawn to a flame, yearning greatly to be under his bright, warm light. He gave a little sigh before he considered his second problem. Itachi had given the tickets to him and he was feeling a little apprehensive about what unnecessary troubles that might entail since the photo exhibition was Itachi's own exhibition. Itachi loved nothing more than to irritate and tease him. He was afraid of the possible humiliations that the eccentric older man might have set him up for. He could not have cared less in the past, but now he wanted Naruto to have a good impression of him. He thought back to the conversation that he had with his older brother and remembered about how the tickets had come into his hands.

=====Flashback =====

Sasuke had been sitting on a couch and staring into space, busy thinking about planning some outings to ask Naruto out to when he had felt a familiar but slightly irritating presence made himself known in the large living room. The next thing he knew, Uchiha Itachi was suddenly hanging onto his shoulders from one side of the couch and ruffling his hair with the other hand. He felt his temper rise as he growled a warning to his brother, "Aniki, stop that or else..."

Itachi had ignored the warning his little brother was giving him and had began playing with the strands of soft, black hair. How he loved to irritate his little brother whose reactions never ceased to entertain him.

"What were you thinking? You seemed to be really engrossed with it too," Itachi had said.

Sasuke gave a defeated sigh, feeling helpless against his brother. His threats and glares had never worked on his brother before. It was as though Itachi had an absolute immunity to it. In fact, if there was anything Uchiha Itachi had besides his talents at photography and everything else, it was nerves of steel and the ability to irritate another and make the victim feel helpless about it, too.

"I was thinking of asking.... a friend of mine out to somewhere." Sasuke had replied carefully. It wasn't necessary for Itachi to know that he was currently in love with someone. He could easily imagine the endless merciless teasing and meddling if he did that.

Itachi had continued playing with Sasuke's hair mindlessly. 'If it was just a friend, Sasuke would never have looked so troubled and thought so hard about asking a _normal friend _to go out with him,' Itachi had analyzed mentally. It was a known fact that Sasuke had more fans than friends, anyway. Something was up with his baby brother and he was determined to find out. He had suddenly remembered about two tickets that were in his pants pocket and an idea had come to him. Reaching into his pockets, he pulled two slightly crumpled tickets and waved them in his brother's face.

"Sasuke, why don't you ask your friend out to this?" Itachi had said innocently.

Sasuke took the tickets and examined them. "Aren't these tickets to your photo exhibition for this upcoming Sunday?" he asked, his onyx eyes looking at Itachi suspiciously. His brother was up to no good – especially when he was acting innocent.

"Yes they are. I was just thinking that since you were so busy thinking about where to take this _friend_ of yours, these tickets would be of good use to help you solve the problem," Itachi said.

"Well... yes, that's true. With these tickets, I do not need to think more of where to take my friend," Sasuke said slowly. Now, he had a very legitimate reason to ask Naruto out somewhere, whether as a friend or otherwise.

"Yes, that would be great..." Itachi said with a smirk. 'And I can find out for myself just who is this friend that can make Sasuke behave like a schoolgirl with a crush,' he thought gleefully to himself. Oh, he just couldn't wait for it now!

=====End Flashback=====

"Oh well, whatever it is, I'll deal with it. More importantly, I should try finding out if Naruto even likes guys in a romantic manner at all!" he mumbled to himself. If the news of what happened this morning were true, it would make this problem even trickier to solve, seeing how Naruto may actually try to avoid him. 'Damn fangirls!' he thought to himself angrily.

He was so lost in thought that he did not notice someone sneaking up to him from the back at all. Naruto made use of this opportunity to jump onto Sasuke and hang off the taller boy's shoulder just like Itachi did yesterday.

Sasuke, out of reflex, bit out sharply, "Itachi, stop that!"

"Itachi? Who is Itachi?" Naruto asked curiously.

Sasuke jumped a little when he heard Naruto's voice. God, that was so embarrassing. To actually confuse the lovely blonde with that idiot brother of his!

"Um... Itachi is my older brother. He loves doing what you just did," he said. He realized how close Naruto was to him. Naruto smell so good and felt so soft and pliant against his shoulders: it was heavenly!

"Oh... so you don't like this?" Naruto asked. He was about to move away when Sasuke shouted hastily that he didn't mind it as long as he was the one who was doing it. 'Only if you were the one who is doing and you can do it as many times as you like it.' Sasuke emphasized to himself. Naruto blushed cutely at the double meaning that Sasuke's words seemed to imply but still moved away to sit beside the dark-haired man.

"So, what are you doing?" Naruto asked casually. He had spotted Sasuke sitting alone (surprisingly) and looking lost in thoughts and came with the intention to ambush his friend and distract him from whatever he was thinking about.

"Just thinking... So what happened this morning? I heard so many versions of the confrontation but I couldn't be sure which one was true, though they all sound equally bad to me." Sasuke asked, turning to look at Naruto seriously in the eye.

Naruto was surprised to find Sasuke looking so serious and somehow, the raven-haired boy looked really attractive when he was serious.

"It's just some of those unreasonable fangirls. They seem to think that I'll give in to their threats and stop associating with you and Neji-san. Like that's ever gonna happen!" Naruto said with a snort.

Sasuke was happy to hear that Naruto was not going to avoid him anytime soon, unless the earlier scenario he had thought was about happen. However, he felt his spirits slightly dampened when he heard Neji's name. 'Seems like another contender for Naruto's heart,' he thought sullenly.

Seeing Sasuke smile a little before pouting fully, Naruto couldn't help but think about how cute and funny he was looking like that and laughed out loud at it. Sasuke felt his unhappiness go away at hearing Naruto's laughter. The younger boy's happiness is so contagious!

Making use of this opportunity, Sasuke gathered his courage and asked Naruto the question he had been planning to ask.

"Naruto, will you go out with me this Sunday afternoon to a photo exhibition?" Sasuke asked in a slight rush and waited with abated breath for the boy's answer.

Naruto thought a little about his schedule on Sunday before he grinned and said, "Sure! I only work on the morning shifts on Sundays, so I'll be able to go with you. Whose photo exhibition is it?"

Sasuke almost made a show of victory upon hearing Naruto's reply. The small blonde had agreed to his date so spontaneously and easily, Sasuke thought he should have just asked the boy straight out from the start without to worrying so much! He frowned a little upon hearing Naruto's question as he remembered exactly whose photo exhibition they were going to.

"We're going to my brother's photo exhibition. I think you have heard the name Uchiha Itachi before..." Sasuke answered a little uneasily. Would Naruto start comparing him to his brother now that he know that Sasuke was the little brother of the great photographer, Uchiha Itachi? Sasuke hoped not or he would be thoroughly disappointed and utterly depressed that his judgment on Naruto was wrong and he turned out to be like everyone else.

"Uchiha Itachi! I knew that name sounded familiar. I have seen his works before. It was top-class but I didn't know you were related to him!" Naruto said with excitement.

Sasuke felt his heart dropped into the pit of his stomach upon hearing Naruto's words. 'He's the same. Soon, he will start the comparing," he thought to himself. He felt misery setting in with the thoughts that the Naruto was just like everyone else. However, it hurt so much more coming from the blonde whom he had fallen so hopelessly in love with.

Naruto was oblivious to Sasuke's display of unhappiness and continued speaking, "But both of you have such different styles of taking pictures and they are all unique in its own way. I thought that Sasuke's scenery works was absolutely amazing. "White" is a great example of that! Itachi-san is fantastic with human photography. I guess that was the way it was supposed to be because Sasuke-kun and Itachi-san are two completely different people, right?"

Sasuke stared a little wide-eye at Naruto as the blonde continued talking. For everything he had been expecting from Naruto at that moment, those comments were definitely not one of them! He felt a burst of pride at Naruto's indirect compliments. The blonde had really thought that he was good and had talked about Itachi and him as two separate entities. Was it any more possible for him to fall for the blonde even harder than he already did? Now, all he had to find out was if Naruto could possibly be attracted to guys and he decided that the coming Sunday would be the day where he would ask one of the most important questions of his life.

=====================================================================

"Neji-sama, you may think badly of what I'm about to say but I really think you should distance yourself from that Naruto. He is not good enough for you," Tenten said slowly but firmly. She could sense Neji's anger but she would not back down this time. Her threats on that aggravating blond had not worked. Since that was so, she supposed she could try to get Neji to see that Naruto was not good for him instead. That way, the blonde would be unable to do anything more to cling to a disinterested Neji. She had to get Neji to see things her way or the state of this matter could become worse – for her. She had watched from the shadows jealously in silence how the two men and interact and wished fervently that one day, such a scene would be about Neji and her instead. But so far, Neji had been nothing been cool indifference and politeness to her and was sometimes just plain irritated by her too.

Neji felt his temper flare at Tenten's words. That girl had a malicious mouth. Naruto had been nothing but innocent and sweet. He has never done anything against Tenten and the girl was accusing the poor boy of being not _good enough_?!

Neji narrowed his eyes and spoke, trying to hold back his anger, "Tenten-san, how much do you know about Naruto-kun to speak about him in such lowly manner? Perhaps the Naruto you are referring to is someone different from the one I know. The Naruto-kun I know is a wonderful brilliant young man whom I like very much and has become a precious friend. Continue with your nonsense and I wouldn't hesitate to retaliate, disregard of whether you are a woman or not!" His tone became so quiet with underlying anger that Tenten felt herself shivered at the very real threat that her beloved Neji-sama was directing at her. However, she doggedly attempted to try to win him over to her side again.

"Neji-sama, all I'm doing is trying to look out for you! You deserve nothing but the very best and I can sense that that guy is nothing but bad news. Call it a woman's intuition. That boy may be the heir to the Uzu Empire but without the money and status, he has nothing good enough to be with you!"

'Fangirls _are_ really unreasonable to talk to, Naruto-kun.' Neji thought with an inward smirk.

"Bad news? That may be so for you. You're jealous, aren't you? I know you like me, Tenten-san but bear in mind that I'll never feel the same for you. Like you said, without money and status, Naruto may be nothing. However, if that were to be so and if I were to become like that too, I most probably would be even worse than Naruto. Also, you should stop your spying on Naruto and I. I do not wish for what special moments that Naruto and I shared becoming a part of your mindless, perverted obsession. Even if I were to let your worst fear come true and fall in love with Naruto, you still have no business interfering with us. I'll say it again. If you, in any way, try to ruin our friendship or try to hurt Naruto-kun, you will be _very_ sorry. Do you understand?" Neji said in a cold voice. Without waiting for an answer from the now heartbroken and shell-shocked fangirl, Neji swiftly left the rooftop.

'That dumb blonde must have influenced Neji-sama to say such cruel words,' Tenten thought stubbornly. "Well, two can play at this game. Just you wait, Uzumaki Naruto. I'll play the game and win! I will make sure you regret ever crossing _me_!" Tenten said in low unsuppressed fury into the empty space, her fists turning nearly white from clenching too tightly.

Somewhere, a blonde sneezed several times without any reason and wondered if he was coming down with a cold.

=====================================================================

Naruto was making his way home from school at a slow pace after his long chat with Sasuke, fully enjoying the fresh air of the early evening. He thought about the photo exhibition he would be going with Sasuke to and wondered what he should wear since the exhibition was held by Sasuke's brother, Uchiha Itachi, the world-renowned photographer! 'Casual or formal? Or a mix?' he mulled over the question mentally. It did not take long for him to give up thinking about that problem and decided to call Sasuke about it later instead. He entered through the backdoor and called out "I'm home" softly before he headed to his room. The face that greeted Naruto in his room took him by utter surprise. "Sh... Shino!"

=====================================================================

TBC

**Next Chapter:** Who exactly is Shino? Why was he in Naruto's room? Sasuke and Naruto on a romantic date! Will anything happen? What will Itachi do? XD

I'm working on a new Naruto fic too. Pairing is SasuNaru. I will try to update as fast as possible seeing how much I like to receive reviews on my stories. ;)

**Plot and character mumbles:**

This chapter is more about what happens after Naruto finds out about his sexual orientation while the rest of the guys, with the exception of Gaara, are still in the dark about it. Naruto also didn't know if the rest of the guys were into men as well. Gay radar doesn't work in this story. XD

The little romantic lunch of Neji and Naruto is something I enjoy writing so I hope readers enjoy reading them too.

No character profiles for this chapter...

**Reviews:**

As always, thanks to IceHeart19 and Teki Star for helping to beta!

Thanks to Yasai-chan, Kamikakushi, Sierra-Falls, Gi wo mite sezaru wa ya n (foamy), RuByMoOn17, chi, izumi, Yaoilover S and The Sisters of Chaos (wolf) for your reviews. That was some really great reviews I got from all of you!

IceHeart19: So sorry for all my delays... but I'm glad you like this chapter. I've lost sleep for it.

Yasai-chan: This chapter is longer and I'm glad you like what I did on the last chapter.

Kamikakushi: This chapter is longer and I hope better. All my characters are so artistic... and I was having dreams about Naruto being with Neji on Monday and Wednesday, Sasuke on Tuesday and Friday, Gaara on Thursday and Saturday and on Sunday, they all jump into the same bed together. ;;;

Sierra-Falls: I'm always writing when I'm not doing school stuff and sneaking off to read yaoi. Lets hope that my eyes will not stray too much to my yaoi manga again, ne?

Please R&R!


	6. A Date with the Uchihas and Kisses Too!

**Walk On**

**By RedMirage aka Kei-Chan**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing! If I did, I wouldn't be here!

**Pairings:** Sasuke x Naruto, Neji x Naruto, Gaara x Naruto, Zabuza x Haku, Itachi x Shino, Lee x Sakura...others still a secret. :P

**Warnings:** AU and contains yaoi. Run if you can't stand it.

**Rating: PG - 13** but may rise to **R** later in the story...

**Summary: **

A teahouse romance...A library romance...And a gathering of two attracted individuals under the Sakura trees at a secret location. With Naruto as the ultimate uke...Who will finally win his heart and body?

Inspired by Kiss wa Ichinichi Sando Made, a yaoi manga by Nabako Kamo.

* * *

"words" indicates speech

'words' indicates thoughts

_italics_ shows an emphasize on the words

Aniki - Big brother in Japanese

* * *

**Chapter 6: A Date with the Uchihas and Kisses Too?! **

Shino was playing some games on Naruto's computer idly, waiting for the blonde to come back. It has been a long two months since he saw his childhood friend and he felt that he was not doing his job as a bodyguard to Naruto during the two months. "But he had ordered it, saying that he wants to walk around without people trying to protect him all the time. At least for a little while." Shino mumbled. He received a call three nights ago from Tsunade, who asked for him to carry on with his duties and to especially fend off "rabid fanboys" from the cute blonde. She said something about a call from Jiraiya about the "dire situation that Naruto had gotten himself into unconsciously with his wonderful good looks". But knowing that Jiraiya was the one who had informed Tsunade, it was probably one of the old man's ways to get a rise out of Tsunade. Jiraiya simply loves fooling around with Tsunade and knew that Naruto was Tsunade's weak spot. Regardless of whether she admits it openly or not, the old but still ridiculously beautiful woman, loves and cares for her nephew a lot. Especially when she actually took the time to call him while she was still busy gambling away in Las Vegas. Everyone knows that when the great Tsunade of Uzu Umpire is gambling, nothing with the exception of Naruto can distract her from the cards and dice. Although the woman was legendary in the business world for her wise strategic moves that raked in billions of dollars for the company, she was also legendary at the gambling clubs for being the greatest sucker who always loses at the tables. The gambling clubs welcome her with opened arms, eager to suck a few millions from the compulsive gambler. "At least now I've every reason to protect Naru whether he wants it or not," he smirked a little to himself under the really high collar of his shirt. Shutting off the game and the computer when it became too boring for him, Shino tapped his finger against the table and wondered when Naruto would be coming back. He lifted his sleeve and looked at his watch. The time read 6:30 pm. Shino remembered that Naruto's classes ended at 3:30 pm today and wondered if the boy had went out with his friends. 'It would be good for him to make some friends, since he only had Haku and me for so long. But I should check his friends out for suspicious motives too. Naruto can be so naïve about such things.' Shino thought to himself. Suddenly, he heard the soft padding noise of footsteps approaching near the room with his keen hearing and knew that Naruto was back. Now, all he had to do was to convince Naruto not to scream too much about the purpose of his visit.

Naruto opened the door to his room and stared in surprise at the sight of Shino. "Sh...Shino!" Naruto yelled out. He ran toward the older boy and wrapped Shino in a huge bear hug. "When did you arrive at Konoha? Why didn't you asked for me to fetch you at the airport?" Naruto asked a long string of questions in a rush. He was so excited to see his childhood friend that it had not dawned on him about the other role that Shino played towards him.

'A least he is _really_ _happy_ to see me,' Shino thought in relief. It seems as though it would not be as difficult to try to get Naruto to accept the reason for his visit after all. "Naruto, you have grown," Shino petted the blond head dutifully, feeling the soft yet slightly wild strands of fine gold slid through his fingers.

Naruto rolled his eyes at Shino's comment. "No, I haven't. You're just saying that to please me," Naruto said with an exaggerated sigh. He felt that Shino has something important to tell him since he was trying to strike a conversation. Normally, Shino is quiet and a listener rather than the conversationalist. He made a move of clearing his throat to signal to Shino that he knew that something is up as he waited for the silent boy to start talking.

Shino sighed a little under his high collar and thought a little amusedly to himself about how perceptive Naruto could be at all the right times. "I was asked by Tsunade-sama to look after you," he said simply.

Naruto's eyes sharpened. "And I was thinking that this was a social visit because you missed me so much," Naruto replied sarcastically. He may really love and look up to Shino as the big brother he never had but he hates the fact that Shino was appointed as his bodyguard. It makes him feel uncomfortable and restricted. "I thought I said that I don't need anyone to guard me. Besides, I think I can defend myself well enough."

"Naruto... it's my job to guard you. But... I am doing it for my own personal reasons as well. I want to protect and be with you like a friend should. Like what an 'aniki' should do." Shino said softly but firmly. "If you're worried that there would be a whole troop of people guarding you, I assure you that I'm the only one. And I'll only be looking out for you... nothing too serious."

Naruto felt himself relenting. It would not be too bad if it were only Shino. Although he really dislikes the fact that his friend could be in danger while protecting him, he also knew that Shino ultimately still has to do his job of being a bodyguard to him. "Well, what can I say? I just hope that you're not a strict chaperone. I would hate to miss out on all the fun of being a college kid." Naruto said with a goofy smile.

Shino heaved a small sigh of relief. "Don't worry, you will get to have your fun. I'll only be keeping those rabid fanboys of yours away from you," he said with a smirk.

Naruto's eyes widened in horror as he shouted, "How did you know that I was a bisexual? No one knows except for Gaara and Sakura!"

"Oh... you mean you really are one? I was only kidding about it. But it doesn't really matter. You're adorable enough to attract both sex." Shino teased a little. He was surprised that Naruto confessed to being a bisexual. He was always thinking that Naruto would be more of a homosexual. Not that these things matters, as long as Naruto is happy.

Naruto felt like smacking himself for the slip of tongue. He was still entirely too sensitive where his sexuality was concerned and had misunderstood what Shino said. He laughed a little sheepishly and said, "Shino, I know of a great place to eat ramen. Why don't I bring you there for dinner now?"

Shino nodded his head and the two friends made their way to the diner. The night was filled with small talks mostly contributed from Naruto while Shino did what he always does. He listened.

* * *

Naruto fixed his silver tie and looked at the mirror, assessing his image. He was wearing an orange blouse, a silver tie, a silver-gray suit pants and a matching silver-gray vest. It was a nice combination along with his black leather shoes. He had combed his hair but it always end up reverting back to its slightly messy state. He thought he looked pretty good. He heard a horn coming from the outside and knew that Sasuke had arrived. He slipped on his silver watch and rushed down to met Sasuke.

Sasuke could only stared in amazement at the striking picture that Naruto had created. The blond was rushing to his black Porsche with a ready smile and Sasuke thought that he looked stunningly gorgeous and vibrant in the orange and silver-gray combination. He was still staring when Naruto got into the car.

"Why are you staring? Is there something wrong with my dressing?" Naruto asked, feeling a little self-conscious from the attentive stare of Sasuke. Sasuke looked so good in his midnight blue suit and pants, he felt as though he was under-dressed! The older boy even had his black shoulder-length hair down today.

"Nothing's wrong. I just thought you look really stunning today." Sasuke replied in a slightly husky voice. He turned his attention back to the wheels to ease Naruto's discomfort but smirked when he saw the pretty little blush that spread on Naruto's cheeks.

Naruto looked out of the car window and thought back to what he told Shino in the afternoon. He had ordered Shino not to follow him to the art gallery. But knowing Shino so well, the man would probably be out there somewhere, looking out for him from the shadows. The rest of the ride was spent in comfortable silence between Naruto and Sasuke as they enjoyed themselves to the soft music of Norah Jones that Sasuke had put on.

Sasuke's car stopped in front of a huge white building. "We're here," Sasuke spoke softly. Naruto flashed a smile at Sasuke and said, "Let's go in then." Sasuke handed his car keys to the valet and walked beside Naruto into the building. He had an urge to hold Naruto's hand but kept his hands obediently to the side, his fingers clenched together. They were ushered to the exhibition room where upon Sasuke's first step into the marbled room, a loud shout from Itachi was heard.

"Sasuke! You're here!" Itachi yelled loudly from across the room before making his way to Sasuke quickly. If there was one thing that Uchiha Itachi is good at, its irritating his beloved little brother. Sasuke felt like burying his head into a hole and try to forget he is related to Itachi in any way. There were so many people staring at them now! The man could be so humiliating at times!

"You don't have to _yell_, Itachi." Sasuke bit out.

Itachi smirked. He knew that Sasuke is irritated with him. He turned to the blonde boy standing beside Sasuke and felt like running to his camera and takes dozens of pictures of the boy before him in various positions, with or without clothes. Apparently, Sasuke caught onto the lust displayed in his eyes towards the blond beauty since his brother was blocking his view from the boy by standing between them. The small blonde seemed a little confused. Smiling charmingly, Itachi said, "So... this is your friend, Sasuke?"

Sasuke refrained from sighing; knowing that he now has to introduce _his_ Naruto to Itachi. His brother was obviously up to no good, since he was staring at Naruto with such hunger in his eyes. "Yes, he is. Naruto is very good friend of mine." Sasuke said carefully and slowly.

'Hmm... No wonder Sasuke is so enamored with his friend. This Naruto is definitely more than attractive and cute enough to sweep Sasuke off his feet. This is going to be so much fun!' Itachi thought gleefully to himself. His brother had never before tried to make any effort to get to know someone. It was always the other way round. It would be highly interesting to observe these two sweet little boys trying to find love with each other. 'This calls for a little spying.' Itachi chuckled a little at that thought. "I see... Well, enjoy yourself at my exhibition, Naruto-kun. There are refreshments at the corner of the hall so feel free to help yourself to it. I must now attend to the other guests. Excuse me." Itachi said in a deep gentlemanly baritone. He stepped out of Sasuke's murderous glare that was fixed on him and rushed off, not to his other guests, but to retrieve his camera to start his latest job. Spying on Sasuke and Naruto.

Naruto was confused. Itachi had greeted him and Sasuke. But before he could talk to the renowned photographer, the man was gone and Sasuke was still staring at the empty spot where Itachi had previously occupied. Both brothers look really similar to each other yet they obviously have different personalities. Itachi was flamboyant yet cool while Sasuke was silent and beautiful. Deciding to get Sasuke in a better mood, which became rather tense ever since Itachi appeared, Naruto tugged at Sasuke's sleeve and nudged the older boy towards one of the pictures in the corner that has caught his eyes. He noticed Sasuke giving him a little smile and he smiled back, commenting on the pictures and engaging in debates with Sasuke over which ones are the better pictures.

Sasuke was glad that Naruto was being so sweet to him by trying to lift his spirits up since his lousy run in with Itachi. They were having so much fun looking at the photographs and arguing playfully about their individual preferences that Sasuke almost forgot about the question that he wanted badly to ask Naruto. But the photo exhibition was not the place to ask such sensitive issue as he could feel everyone's eyes on them and hear the whispers of their names. Thus, when they were having some refreshments at the hall, Sasuke asked Naruto out to dinner at a new Japanese restaurant, to which Naruto happily agreed, since he was feeling famished.

"So where is this restaurant?" Naruto ask curiously while they were walking towards the car. The night was cool and breezy. Perfect for a nice long stroll.

"Did you hear anything about the revolving restaurant located at the top of the Four Leaves Hotel? We're going there." Sasuke said. He was feeling anxious about going to the restaurant because he was going to ask the very thing that would decide if he even has a chance with Naruto. He just hoped that if the answer from Naruto were negative, he would not humiliate himself by throwing up the food that they would have eaten at the restaurant.

"_That_ is the new restaurant we're going to? But I heard that it is so popular that it is impossible to get a table at the place without a one-month advance booking and it's really expensive too! " Naruto exclaimed, looking at Sasuke with incredulous eyes.

Sasuke chuckled at Naruto's words. "It would be possible if I know the owner of the restaurant. The man, Kisame, may look like a hideous shark but he is a pretty decent guy and a good friend of Itachi and me." Kisame even has a little secret crush on his brother, so he would always have a table reserved for the Uchihas just in case that Itachi suddenly decided to drop by the restaurant.

Naruto nodded his head understandingly at Sasuke's words. It was no wonder they could get a place at the restaurant so easily since Sasuke knew the owner. They got into the car and drove off happily to the restaurant, unknowing of the two shadows that have been following them.

* * *

Uchiha Itachi was following the trail of his baby brother and the little blonde guy, Naruto, closely. He noticed how relaxed and _happy_ Sasuke was in the presence of Naruto and felt a little jealous of it. Sasuke hardly ever displayed those kinds of expressions around anybody else, including him. But he was currently having too much fun to really care. He happily snapped each rare moment away on his camera. He followed Sasuke's car and then into the restaurant. 'So Sasuke chose Kisame's place to eat? Good choice,' Itachi thought to himself, eyeing the restaurant critically. Each table has a private and intimate setting and the skyline seen through the large transparent windows is simply astounding. It seemed to be half of Konoha has been lighted up in various pretty colors from below and dozens of twinkling diamonds in the velvet night sky above. He chose to seat himself in the bar where no booking is required so that he need not alert Kisame to his presence, causing an unwanted stir and spoiling his perfect cover. He moved towards an inconspicuous corner and ordered a Bloody Mary as he observed the two boys being shown to their seat by a waiter. He sighed a little in annoyance when he realized that the platform they are seating on would be revolving around the bar and grumbled under his breathe, wishing that the mechanism spinning the platform would break down now for him. "At least the damn thing is moving really slowly," he muttered. He pulled his jacket higher as he simply observed Sasuke and Naruto without taking any pictures since that would give him away. He noticed a man with a really high shirt collar that covered his mouth walked to sit beside him. The guy had smoky gray eyes and was ordering a Martini while keeping his eyes on the same pair of couple as him.

Shino had followed Naruto all through his date with Sasuke despite the blonde's order for him to stay at home. He just had to check if Sasuke is one of the possible fanboys in the guise of being a friend to Naruto. There was no doubt that the raven-haired boy was head over heels in love with Naruto but he could tell that he was serious about his friend too. The boy was cold and unyielding towards everyone but gentle and friendly with Naruto. He stepped into the restaurant to be told that if he had no reservation, he could not get a table but if he was going to the bar then he could be admitted immediately. He choose going to the bar and walked quickly to an inconspicuous corner and sat down. He gave a cold calculating once over at the restaurant. 'Great ambience, delicious food and horribly expensive. Definitely trying to impress.' he thought silently. He looked over at Naruto to observe the blonde's reaction. 'Looks like it did impressed.' He continued to keep an eye on the couple, steadfastly ignoring everything else when the table the two boys were seating at revolved around. He was completely oblivious to the man sitting beside him who was observing him openly until he turned around to order another glass of Martini. The two men had a staring contest, where smoky gray eyes clashed against dark black ones, which lasted for a mere two minutes before Shino turned away to continue observing Naruto and Sasuke.

The longer Itachi looked at Shino, the more he felt like ripping off the jacket and clothes to see what lies beneath it. The man positively exuded such a mysterious and sexy aura that he had switched from watching Sasuke and Naruto to watching him. When the man turned around and they stared into each other eyes, Itachi felt an unexplainable shock shooting up his spine as he felt himself drawn into those smoky gray orbs. As Shino turned away to continue observing the couple, he wanted to turn the man's face to him again and kissed the lips hiding under the collar, which he imagined to be full and smooth. He wanted to start a conversation but seeing the man devoting his full concentration elsewhere, he would probably be ignored. He could only choose to stalk this man on his way out and hoped to at least get a number from him. God, he was starting to feel really hot!

Sasuke was feeling nervous. He had talked and laughed with Naruto but every time he tried asking about Naruto's sexual orientation, he felt as though the salmon sushi he was eating was stuck in his throat. He could feel the minutes ticked by and knew that if he still doesn't asked the question, the dinner would come to an end soon. He looked at Naruto who was happily eating his soba and talking in between swallows of noodles. Feeling anxiety creeping into his heart, he grabbed hold of his cup of sake and gulped down the contents, slamming the cup slightly down on the table and asked shakily, "Naruto, do you...do you like guys? I mean... in a ...r...r...romantic way!"

Naruto stopped talking as soon as he saw Sasuke suddenly snatching up his cup of sake and gulped it down like a man who has not had a sip of water in months. He widened his eyes when Sasuke all but slammed the cup down and then asked the question, which made him drop his chopsticks. He grabbed his napkin and coughed heavily into them. "Why do you ask that?"

"Because I have to know." Sasuke asked with a strange emotion glistening in his onyx eyes.

Naruto stared apprehensively at Sasuke, biting his lips before saying in a small voice, "Well... the last time I checked, I was a bisexual and I don't think it had changed." He reclined back in his chair and wondered if Sasuke had suddenly found some of his behaviors disturbing and hence the question. He hoped fervently that Sasuke would not be disgusted by his admission.

Sasuke would have whooped for joy, if he could have, at the rather crowded restaurant. He could have sworn that his heart nearly stopped beating while waiting for Naruto to answer his question.

He smiled boyishly at Naruto. "I have the same preferences too. But I don't like girls at all."

Naruto's eyes widened again as his mouth formed an "O" shape. He would never have guessed in a millions years that Sasuke is a homosexual with the number of girls running after him. He came to the conclusion that Sasuke must be feeling the same thing as he did and felt the need to tell him about it. Feeling good knowing that he was not the odd one out, Naruto smiled back and they carried on with their dinner with Sasuke suddenly becoming very lively during conversation and asking Naruto lots of questions.

Shino nodded in satisfaction at the two friends. They were enjoying each other company and although there was a slight problem in between where both boys seem awkward with each other, it was soon resolved and they were back to normal, laughing and eating. In fact, the raven-haired boy seemed to become alive all of a sudden. He paid the bill of his drinks and gave a generous tip, deciding to give the two boys some time together without people spying on their every move. Moving out into the cool night, Shino was walking to his car when he felt a presence behind him. Not wanting to alert his stalker, he continued walking while planning to lure the person to a corner before he confronts the person. Once they were near an alley, Shino stopped suddenly and swiftly turned around and stepped forward to grab the man.

Itachi had meant to ask the man for his name and number (and if possible, to a late supper) once they were out of the restaurant but somehow ended up stalking the man for reasons he couldn't seem to comprehend himself. He did not even bother to hide himself and was following the man closely too until the man suddenly stopped and turned around to grab him and pushed him into the alley. Itachi breathed heavily, feeling somewhat aroused by the situation he was caught in. The mysterious sexy man was currently pinning him with his back to the wall and holding him by the scuff of his neck. In his mind, the situation was kinky and he thought about leaning forward to kiss those lips he had imagined. Damn that high collar shirt the man was wearing!

Shino stared in surprised at the man that he had pinned against the wall. He looked eerily similar to Uchiha Sasuke and he also remembered from seeing his face from somewhere else. Thinking hard about where he had seen the man in front of him, he did not caught the look of lust displayed blatantly on Itachi's face. Suddenly, he has a clear memory of seeing this guy at a function held by the Uzu Empire, which was celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. This man was Uchiha Itachi, the world-renowned photographer. "Why are you stalking me?" he snapped out sharply at the man.

'God, his voice is so sexy when he's angry," Itachi thought, completely mesmerized by the man before him. He had yet to met a man or a woman who was completely unaffected by his good looks and this man didn't even seemed to notice them! Turning on his full charm, Itachi smiled endearingly at the man and said in a silken tone, "Well, I was trying to ask for your name and number but couldn't seem to find a good time to do that... so I decided to follow you until I did."

"Why would you want my name and number? I don't know you."

"I'm attracted to you."

Shino dropped his hold on Itachi at hearing the Uchiha's answer. It was definitely not what he would expect to hear for an answer, not that he had any expectations in any way. "You don't even know what I really look like."

Itachi straightened his collar and smiled brightly. "The energy you radiated is sexy enough. Besides, the fact that I didn't know what your lower half of the face look like could be changed too." Itachi suddenly pulled down Shino's collar and assessed the face before him. Shino's lips were indeed full and his nose was sharp and well defined. The man was, in short, downright gorgeous. "Absolutely beautiful," he murmured softly. Shino seemed to be frozen in place by his actions and he took the chance to plant his lips on Shino's, which once again proved him right to be smooth and soft. He had a feeling if Shino wanted to push him away he could do it easily. Itachi would hate to start a fight so soon with the guy he was currently trying to seduce.

Shino was completely stunned by Itachi. For twenty years of his life, he had never been come on so strongly by anyone nor have he been kissed before. He was frozen with surprise and he could feel himself yielding to that skilful tongue that was coaxing him to spread his lips apart. He almost gave in when Itachi pulled away and nuzzled his nose. "Hmm... Do you think you could give me your number and also your name now? I would like to have a name to put on the face of the man I just kissed."

Shino croaked out weakly, "Aburame Shino. My number is 9132002." What had he just done? He had a strong feeling that Uchiha would probably start clinging to him from now on. You could never be a good bodyguard when someone else other than your client is clinging to you.

With the name and number burnt deeply into his memory, Itachi took out his name card and slipped it into Shino's hand. He knew from Shino's awkward reactions to his kissing that Shino was still virtually untouched by another man (or woman). He did not want to rush the man into anything he didn't want too soon and scare him away. "Call me anytime, Shino-kun. I'll call you too." Like a breeze, Itachi was gone, leaving Shino still standing and rather frozen.

Itachi stopped walking and glanced up at the night sky. "What was that? Love at first sight? Uchiha Itachi, you're in so much trouble," Itachi muttered before breaking out into chuckles and continued walking into the dark shadows of the night.

* * *

Gaara had no idea why he was feeling restless tonight. He didn't have much of an appetite and he couldn't sit still for a moment. 'I must have been influenced by Naruto too much.' he grumbled before a small smile came unbidden to his lips at the mention of blonde's name. Shaking his head, he had a sudden urge to see Naruto and maybe even relieve the restlessness he is feeling. He turned to walk towards the direction of the teahouse, unknowing of the surprise that would greet him as well as the jealous rage that he would feel.

Naruto glanced over at Sasuke who was humming away at a tune while driving him back home. Sasuke was behaving pretty out of character today but Naruto really liked this never-before-seen side of Sasuke. He really enjoyed himself tonight despite some strange mood swings from Sasuke. It wasn't long before he started humming to the song in sync with Sasuke.

Soon, they arrived outside the backdoor of the teahouse. Naruto stepped out into the sidewalk, as did Sasuke. "Goodnight, Sasuke. Thanks to you I had a wonderful time today." He was about to open the door when Sasuke shouted, "Wait!" He slowly turned around to feel a pair of warm lips pressed against his own as his eyes closed instinctively. He felt the lips leaving and opened his eyes when he felt Sasuke giving a lick to his lips. "Goodnight, Naruto."

Naruto stood still as he watched Sasuke gave him a wink and then walked back to his car and drove off with a wave of his hand. Realization of what Sasuke just did set in and Naruto felt his knees turned to jelly as he collapsed against the backdoor. He touched his lips and whispered dazedly, "My first kiss... with Sasuke..." He tried to steady himself and thought, 'Just what was the meaning of that kiss?' It was a long time before he stumbled back into the teahouse and then to his room. He needed to find Shino and talk to him, unknowing that his 'aniki' is facing the same problems as him.

Gaara stood in the shadows of the streetlights. His fists were clenched tightly as his lips were drawn into a thin angry line. His eyes flashed dangerously at the scene of Sasuke kissing Naruto as he felt jealousy and a sharp sense of heartbreak stirred violently in his heart. He had no idea when had Naruto meant so much more than a friend to him but it was clear to him now that his feelings towards Naruto was more than that of friendship. He obviously had rivals too. He turned around and walked back to where he came from. He needed some time to think clearly and also to get rid of the need to murder one Uchiha bastard.

* * *

TBC...

**Next Chapter:** Eeps! What would Gaara do? Would Neji find out about the kiss and react like Gaara did? What about Shino and Itachi?

My schedule is really hectic these days, hence the very, very late update. Sorry. ;;

**Plot and character mumbles:**

I know that Shino should have his sunglasses on but since he isn't a ninja in this story, it would be ridiculous for him to be wearing one at night while trying to protect Naruto. No one could do that while being nearly blind.

Itachi had always struck me as a character that is always extremely in control of things, especially his freedom. He does what he likes and is someone who comes like a wind and is gone equally fast.

The pace of the story is much faster than the previous chapter because I didn't want to drag things too much. Too much detail can be such a spoiler sometimes so I deleted my previous draft, which concentrated too much on details of Sasuke and Naruto's date that I couldn't fit in properly the question that Sasuke need to ask Naruto because the flow of story was wrong. I needed Sasuke to be anxious but he became too happy for that.

Btw, aren't everyone happy that there is finally some action? XD

**Character Profiles**

**Introducing the bishounens...**

**Uchiha Itachi:** An internationally acclaimed photographer who specializes in taking pictures of people. He has many assignments from all the popular magazines as well as from movie stars so he is extremely wealthy. He is Sasuke's brother and has been taking care of Sasuke since their parents' early demise by himself. He loves his little brother a lot but he loves to tease and irritate him even more. Thus causing Sasuke to have a love-hate relationship with him. He is a bisexual.

**Aburame Shino: **The bodyguard and childhood friend of Naruto. His family has been responsible for the protection of the Uzumaki's and its members for generations. He knows a lot of personal secrets of Naruto, who told them to Shino. However, his mouth is as tight as a closed lid.

**Reviews:**

**Thanks to IceHeart19 for helping to beta! There seem to be some sort of a problem with hotmail where I have troubles sending the new chapter and email to my beta, Teki Star, since she had not reply (or I had not received any reply). This happened to the rest of my mails as well so I decided to upload the chapter first (before I got thrown rocks by angered readers).**

**To Teki Star: If you see this message, please contact me. I asked to be added to your msnm. If you have received this chapter, please beta and sent me your beta version so I can upload it as a revised chapter. **

Thanks to Jurt, Kitty, Kali Swifteye, chibi-uchiha, sara, juu, KhaosFlamez, ephi, XxMaster-ExX, Sierra-Falls, SasuNaru123, bitterchoco, Yasai-chan, 123, Kyona Kopper, Lostlily, Cookie6, Gi wo mite sezaru wa ya n, Kori Nibiki, Kaiyo No Hime, Bealmira, Annachan, Apple Grace, B.H.261, Kishu, Luna, Kamikakushi and MaroonSorrow. Your comments are much appreciated!

To juu: Thanks for your offer for helping to beta but I already have two great betas. However, if you would like to, maybe you can help me in revising the previous chapters! Tell me your email in the next review if you are interested!

Please R&R!


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